We Used To Be
by aurorlaw
Summary: After Voldemort defeats the resistance Hermione is taken captive by Voldemort's new right hand man. Making a pact with her enemy to save those she can will change everyone's lives. When Harry's mind is obliviated, where does he find he belongs? Who will r
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just the situations. This fic will be dark and will have sexual situations. IF I write something objectionable let me know and I will remove it. Give me a chance before reporting me :). I am new to the community so I don't really know where the boundaries are...this is not I know but hey, it is labeled MATURE :()

Who We Used To Be...

Hermione opened her eyes but she wasn't sure if she was awake. The room around her was not familiar. It was fairly dark, the only light came from a fireplace at the other end of the room. The bed had a canopy, it reminded her of Hogwarts. But this king size bed with countless pillows and cold silky sheets were not Hogwarts staples. Hermione began to worry about how calm she felt. She had been drugged, she was disoriented and numb.

"10 points for Griffyndor if you can guess what spell that was" a voice rang out in the room.

She glanced at the chair by the window. It was Malfoy's voice, she had recognized it immediately.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot" he stood up. "There is no more Griffyndor" he shrugged casually. "As a matter of fact, there is no Hogwarts"

He walked over towards her bed. She tried to move, she tried to sit up. Laying like this, put her in a far too vulnerable position.

"You're going nowhere, mud blood" he told her as he circled the bed, watching her like prey. His blond hair reflected by the fire at the corner of the room.

She cried out in frustration, the spell must have been wearing off because she could feel again, fear, panic, and hate. The memories came back suddenly.

_She had been trapped in the Slytherin dungeon. Someone had just killed Professor Snape. A crumbling column had knocked her to the ground, her leg trapped under heavy stone. _

_She reached for her wand, a few feet from where she had fallen, but stopped when she saw a pair of shoes step on it, breaking it in half._

_"You won't be needing that anymore, Granger" _

_"Malfoy?" she looked up as he removed his mask. _

_"Didn't really think I would to it, did you?" he asked. "Perhaps deep down inside I wasn't really such a bad guy? I'm glad to disappoint you"_

_"You don't disappoint me, Malfoy, you're nothing to me. Go ahead and cast your curse" she dared, feeling the pain of her trapped leg. "I should have killed you when I had the chance" _

_"But you kept expecting me to see the correct and righteous path" he mocked. "Your friends have been defeated" he took pleasure in announcing. _

_She felt her stomach tighten. Something a kin to a sob echoed in the now silent common room. Quickly, she stifled her emotions, he was not going to get the pleasure of seeing her pain. _

_"We won. The light side has been destroyed" he knelt in front of her. "They're all dead and you're all that's left"_

_If they were gone then she would rather join them. He leaned closer._

_"What are you waiting for?" she asked feeling the warmth of his body. _

_"Just savoring this glorious moment" he inhaled her scent. He grabbed a handful of her hair and she cried out. Waiting, waiting for death was the worse part. Would he torture her to death? How had Harry and Ron…?_

_"Do it!" she shouted pulling away. There were tears in her eyes. "Why are you doing this!" Why was he torturing her by prolonging this?_

_"You were kind to me once, Granger" he told her with a hint of a smile._

_Hermione had not expected this. She racked her brain for a moment in her life when she had been kind to Malfoy. He aimed his wand at her and everything had gone dark._

"Good evening, welcome to the new world" he smiled. "A world where Harry Potter has been defeated" he got on the bed, next to her, almost on her now, one harm at each side, supporting his body above her, his cold gray eyes meeting hers.

Hermione's face contorted in pain at the returning reality. "Harry" she sobbed and turned her face away from him. "Ronald"

She felt his hand on her body, trailing from her hips to his chest. She pushed away weakly.

"A world where there is no resistance left against the Dark Lord. A world where purebloods have taken their rightful place, where I am the Lord's first in command and where I have the thing Potter cherished the most as my new…" he leaned down and kissed her neck. "favorite" he traced her chin with his lips. "toy" he breathed into her ear.

She shoved him away with all her strength.

"No!" she cried out, her face wet from crying. "No!"

This couldn't be happening, it had to be a nightmare. As he pinned her arms to the bed, his body above her, she knew this was not really happening.

"Can't accept that your friends are dead?" he asked. "I was there myself" he told her cruelly with a smile. His fingers traced her thigh, gently lifting her gown slightly higher.

"Get off me! You disgusting beast" she roared, but all she could picture was Harry and Ron. All she could think about was seeing them again. The pain was overwhelming, it did not leave any room for anger and hate, she could not find enough strength to fight Malfoy. She had no strength left because she had nothing to fight for if they were gone.

"You are mine to do as I please, mud blood" he growled gripped her face forcefully to make her look into his eyes. "I will take everything you have until you're nothing but an empty slave. I will make you crave and need me. You will love me and fear me at the same time"

"I would never love you, Malfoy and you have made a grave mistake, if I have nothing to lose well then I have nothing to fear" she hissed. "You can go ahead and kill me now"

He smiled pinning her arms back above her head with one hand. He pulled his wand out with his free hand and pointed it at her face.

"Go ahead" she stared defiantly, her whole body shivering. "I have nothing left to lose"

"No?" he half smiled, his eyebrow cocked. "Demostra Experenzia" he chanted.

_He was inside her dormitory. Draco watched as she packed, it their last week as Hogwarts students. Her long lean legs paced back and forth from the dresser to the trunk by her desk. She wore small gray shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. He waited, patiently, wondering what it was about this memory that made it so strong in her life. There was a soft knock._

_"Harry" she announced sounding surprised to see him. _

_"You didn't make it to dinner" he stated flatly as she walked into the room, closing the door behind him. _

_"I've…" she sighed and pointed at her trunk. "I don't know why I felt the need to…" focus on such a mundane detail when the war is upon us. _

_Potter was watching her, his eyes burning into her body, but she hadn't noticed. Could Granger not have ever noticed the way Potter cried out for her with his eyes? Malfoy smiled at the image. She was not looking at Potter, there was something that would not let her face him. _

_"I guess I want to put things in order…" she tried to continue but things weren't making sense, things felt odd._

_"Hermione" he breathed and slammed his mouth against hers. She stumbled backwards crashing against the door, his body against hers. She had been caught off guard. Her body tensed at first, but then she pulled him into her, deepening the kiss. His hands caressing her body as he drowned himself in her after denying the touch for so long._

_"Harry, Ronald" she pushed away. "I…I…"_

_He pressed his forehead against hers as he spoke. Their lips were still close, almost as if they were sharing their breath. His eyes were shut tight, finding the situation much too painful. _

_"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I do know I'm going to face_

_Voldemort and I know one of us is going to die…"_

_"Harry, don't" she touched his face._

_"I don't mind knowing that…but I can't go tomorrow, Mione, with this regret in my heart" he finished. _

_His gaze dared to meet hers. Her heart collapsed. She had seen those green eyes suffer through so much. Through the past 6 years she had tried to do what she could to protect him in anyway. She had sworn to herself that someday she would be able to shield him from pain and bring joy into his life. It seemed, however, that things had only grown increasingly worse. The life of the Boy Who Lived was really that of the Boy Who Was Cursed._

_His green eyes now looked tired and hopeless, different form the eyes she had encountered on the train to Hogwarts so long ago-even then, he had already suffered more than any child should. Just 6 months ago they had lost their glow, when she and __Ron had announced they were a couple. Hermione could feel it, she could feel the pain that came from him but she had been too afraid to ask. She was afraid because she knew what was wrong, deep down inside. _

_"Oh Harry" she kissed him and pulled him into her._

_Malfoy watched the embrace and smirked. He knew that Ronald Weasley had taken Harry's last breath of hope at love. A true, loyal and dutiful friend he had kept his feelings and pain to himself, even though it was killing him inside. Now, on the eve of the biggest battle of their lives Potter had broken down and was here trying to shag his best friend's fiancee. _

_Weasley had proposed to Granger that morning in the Great Hall. Everyone had cheered and Harry had congratulated Ron who asked him to be his best-man, of course. The kick to Harry's gut had been fun to watch when Granger had breathed a tearful yes. _

_She pushed Potter back. He looked at her through dazed eyes. It was madness, it was euphoria to have her, to touch her. Malfoy held his breath in anticipation as she pulled her shirt over her head. He remembered to swallow as his eyes caught full sight of her body. Harry dropped to his knees in front of her. Worshipping, but not daring to touch. They were going to cheat on the one person they both loved the most. For Potter, Ronald was more than a brother, he was his family. For Granger, he was more than a lover, he was her future. _

_Her frame was slim, not curvaceous. Her nipples were light brown, her breasts perfectly proportioned for her frame. They curved gently over a tight, flat stomach a long lean torso and small hips that were barely covered by her unbuttoned shorts. Potter was taking the image in. He went back to her and kissed her stomach while his hand caressed her breasts. She arched back against the wall. Her face was towards the ceiling, her eyes shut tightly and her lips pursed in pleasure as her fingers entangled themselves in Potter's messy black hair. _

She felt herself shake, her body trembled. Looking up at Harry something felt wrong. He smiled at her, kindly. A sudden movement caught her attention, glancing to look to her left the room changed and she was back on the bed with Malfoy on her.

She pushed him back, violently.

"What did you do?" she demanded. "You were in my mind"

He laughed and sat up watching her. "You are a very passionate kisser, mud blood" he winked at her. "Liked the way you were rubbing up against me"

"You bastard, go ahead, rape me" she shouted.

"I have no intention of overcoming you physically. We both already know I am physically stronger than you. Mentally, however, the great Hermione Granger, the model mud blood" he sneered. "No, I want to overpower you there, I want to prove to you that my mind is superior than yours"

"You are nothing but a spoiled coward" she spat.

"I can enter your memories, your thoughts. I can make you reply truthfully to anything I ask" he told her.

"What kind of spell would…"

"There is no limit to what spells I can use now. Those unforgivable, the lost ones, the secret ones…they are mine to play with" he told her.

She watched him, her heart racing.

"So did you love him?" he asked suddenly.

"yes" she replied just as quickly.

Like a child she covered her mouth, surprised by her own response. She hadn't even been able to think about it, it had just come out, it had rolled off her tongue. It was worse than the veritaserum.

"What a predicament you found yourself in" he mocked. "So why weren't you with Potter?"

"I didn't feel good enough for him" she gasped and tried to get herself out of the bed, to run, to flee. She had never known this, it was something only her subconscious had known.

He grabbed her arms, and pulled her back laughing.

"Not done with you, Granger" he tossed her back in the bed.

"You will pay for this someday Malfoy" she growled through tears.

"I don't see who is going to make me" he smiled.


	2. my mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

thanks for the review: dracoalwayz, adoro las fresas and prin69. More to follow soon.

CHAPTER 2

Draco Malfoy, head of Malfoy Manor since his father's death, was quite a busy wizard lately. As the Dark Lord's right hand man he was in charge of planning attacks on any hint of resistance left. He leaned his elbow on his desk and dropped his forehead into his hand- sighing. He covered his eyes for a few seconds and then rand his hand down his face. Alone he could let out the stress that was building within him. It was relief, this time, Zabini's mission had been a complete success. He relished every second of his position. He wanted even more power, more people to be responsible for, but he knew that he was just getting used to it.. It would all come to him with time.

Now he had to ensure all their followers, who did not bear the death eater mark- were marked with another type of branding device. Spies and traitors were a serious concern. Severus Snape had been a great actor, but in the end Draco had been better. He had fooled all those in Hogwarts that he was turning to the light. Dumbledore had not even known what hit him. He was not about to let that happen to him. Mr. Malfoy, as he now was called, had assigned this task to Theodore Nott.

He looked out his window, the vast grounds of his property perfectly manicured. Guards were stationed at the main gate. The Dark Lord was staying with him, in the East wing of the house, while they prepared his castle.

The halls were filled with countless followers, countless new faces and some old ones that no longer looked at him the same. Malfoy is too young, he could hear some say. Dolohov, Avery, Lestrange, any of those old Death Eaters would have been a better choice- according to some- they didn't like the fresh upstart coming in and taking their place after all the years of work they had put in. No one said anything to his face, of course, it was all ass kissing to his face. Malfoy had brought down Hogwarts, he had handed the Dark Lord his victory. He was the future, as the Dark Lord had told him, he was going to carry on the task.

_'_The pressure,' he thought to himself.

The pressure was constant. While he had achieved something no wizard his age should have, they still doubted and questioned him at every turn. They were looking for any flaw, any failure to pounce. Any sign of weakness and the predators would tear him apart. It hadn't happened yet and he was not about to let that happen any time soon. He knew that if he could succeed in that one last problem the Dark Lord had, he would be officially proclaimed the Successor. No one could challenge his rule then.

Although Voldemort would probably not die anytime soon-he had a tendency of extending his existence beyond the bounds of reasonableness- he was weak. The battle with Potter had left him in a very frail state. Very few knew this, those very few worked to conceal this from the many. The Dark Lord was still in charge but Malfoy had the task of dealing with the mundane details.

_"Mr. Malfoy, the British Prime Minister has been informed of our war' Goyle told him. "He wants to speak to you about a treaty"  
__"We don't negotiate with muggles" Draco had replied. "Tell him so long as he stays away from us. We will stay away from them"  
__It was not going to be true. Eventually they would enslave the muggles, but for now they needed them out of the way. It was more important that they subdue the wizarding world first. When muggles had no one left to protect them, they would simply bow down. _

_"Young Malfoy" Lord Voldemort spoke. "I want you to hunt down the exiled Minister of Magic. No need to have him coming back with resistance"  
__"I will assemble a team, My Lord" Draco bowed._

_"Master Malfoy" Pinky the house-elf dared. "We need to know how many place settings we will need for tonight's celebration, Sir"  
__Oh, yes, every mundane detail.  
_

_It had been wonderfully kind of his mother to abandon him.  
__"This war was your fathers" she told him packing. "Not mine. I have no stomach for this nonsense"  
__"Mother, Father died for this" he told her bitterly.  
__"That was his own stupidity."  
__That was her reply to the death of her husband after all those years of marriage. He wondered how the two could have lasted together so long. They had absolutely nothing in common. Draco figured that was probably the reason they had only had one child. The two had stayed away from each other whenever they weren't in the public eye._

He thought of Granger. He wanted to show her everything that he had done, eventually he would. Its not that he wanted to impress her, he wanted her to hate him beyond endurance, he wanted her to fear him and then lose all hope. She was kept prisoner in a room on the 5th floor. A house elf had been assigned to assist her in anything she needed. The Dark Lord had indulged Draco's request to keep Granger, but he knew it was for a limited period. He sighed and made his way back upstairs, to her.

The Veritaserum, he knew would not work. They had found that even Longbottom had built quite a good resistance to it. Potter's little troops had been training quite hard. Granger would probably shrug off the potion. So the Dark Lord had given him forgotten curses that had been out of use for many years. Now he could enter her mind and find what he was looking for, beyond her will.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

She didn't reply. She was sitting by the window, looking at the grounds outside. Hermione was wearing a robe, her hair tied back.

"How long are you planning to keep me here?" she asked.

"As long as it takes…when I bore with you I will give you to the Death Eaters to do as they please with you" he watched her for a reaction. "Today Zabini led an attack on a band of the resistance. I am happy to inform you that your dear Luna Lovegood is dead. I was told she fought bravely" he shrugged dismissively. "We took Longbottom hostage…he's probably being tortured downstairs by Lestrange right now. You know how she has a thing for him."

His voice was casual, as if he was discussing the weather with her, trying to make conversation. She did not look at him.

"And what do you want, Malfoy? More tears?" she asked. "I have none. With Harry and Ron gone, I have nothing to give. I wonder why you come here and enter my memories, what is it you hope to find?"

"A way to break you" he smiled standing by the window. "I want to…" he realized what he was about to say: I want to get you out of MY mind. Since the incident 6th year, she had been inside his mind. "I want to get every secret out of you…get all your knowledge"

"Verdadera" he cast the spell on her.

"I can't fight you" she whispered surprised at how weak she had turned out to be in the end. If Harry and Ron could hear her…but they couldn't could they? There was no hope left, there was nothing for her to draw strength from. So she decided to get this done faster. "What is that you want Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"I want to know what spell the three of you cast to keep the Dark Lord from being able to feel Potter. How did you weaken the connection?"

"I don't remember it" she replied truthfully.

"I'll find it then" he cocked an eyebrow looking down at her.

She laughed. "Are you going to go through my entire life?"

"Show me the spell" he sneered impatiently. He slicked his hair back in frustration and approached her. "Demostra Experenzia."

_"Mione what's wrong?" Ron asked walking into the empty common room._

_"I got a C in my arithmancy assignment" she sobbed showing him the paper. "I don't know how I could have messed up so badly"_

_Ron's concern faded, he smiled pulling her into his arm dismissively to comfort her. _

_Draco watched the embrace. When had this happened? What did this have to do with the spell? She was showing him the wrong memory. Blasted, stubborn Granger. Why couldn't he control her? He tried to break the connection, but found he could not. He was stuck in there._

_"No! Ron" she groaned pulling away. "You're laughing at me"_

_"It was one C, I've gotten tons of those. Anyway, it is an advanced course, did you think it would be easy?" he asked. "I know you'll do great"_

_"You take everything so lightly because you have nothing to prove, you have nothing to live up to" she told him._

_"What is that supposed to mean?" he pulled away a little insulted._

_"You are a pureblood. You are Ronald, another Weasley. Me? I am a mud blood and I have to overdo everything. I have to exceed to just be accepted. Who questions your ability and powers as a wizard? While I am, on the other hand, under constant evaluation"_

_Draco's attention was pulled back to them. _

_"What? By that prat Malfoy?" he asked. "You don't listen to him do you?"_

_"Its not only him. I know it" she said softly, calming down. "I know many feel that way. You-know-who would never had so many followers if that prejudice wasn't so prevalent. Malfoy just has enough guts or stupidity to be honest. I respect that" _

_"You respect Malfoy?" he asked._

_"Ron, you missed the point of what I was trying to say" she sighed._

_"I'm sorry" he smiled. "But I see what you are saying"_

_"Plus, I already have that title; the smart girl. I have to keep it up…" she closed her eyes and leaned on the windowsill. "It is so exhausting. Those Ravenclaws are just waiting for me to slip up. And then what? Gee, what's wrong with her, she's just got an A-…have to live up to expectations"_

_"Mione, those who love you, expect nothing more from you" he embraced her._

_"Harry counts of me, Ron" she sighed relaxing into his arms. "I have to be prepared to help him deal with anything that comes his way. The war is upon us and if Harry turns to me and I don't have an answer…I could cause all our deaths"_

_"You do live up to expectations" he smiled pulling her into his arms. "You exceed them" he kissed her._

_She smiled looking into his eyes. "I love you, Ron" she whispered. "We have some time before dinner tonight…" she cocked an eyebrow at him. "How about you cheer me up?"_

_He laughed. _

_Draco rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to see Ronald Weasley attempt to hump Granger like a panting dog._

_Hermione felt tense at the kiss. There was someone else in the room with her. She looked in the mirror and saw Draco Malfoy's reflection. _

Pushing back from Ron's eyes she saw it was Malfoy who held her.

"You are disgusting" she growled. Ron was fresh in her mind now. It felt as if she had just touched him, kissed him, felt him close to her. How could he force her to relive something so beautiful and then take it from her?

"That's not what I demanded you show to me" he pushed her back viciously. He felt weak from the spell.

"Well, well, it seems like little Draco Malfoy might have all the tools in the arsenal, all the spells at his disposure, but he sure as hell has no strength to wield them!" she taunted. "Isn't that true?"

"Its not about strength" he replied breathlessly. "I don't have the self control"

She stared at him. Draco had not realized what was going on.

"Why do you need to know what spell it was?" she demanded.

"To figure out a way to kill Potter" he replied.

They stared at each other surprised. "He's not dead?" she whispered.

Malfoy pointed his wand at her. "Finite Incan…"

Hermione threw herself on him, not letting him finish. "No!" she growled. "The door opens both ways, doesnt it? You are going to tell me…show me when I was ever kind to you" she was clawing his face. "So that I can remember the greatest mistake of my life!"

Malfoy had discarded his wand, his hands were gripping Granger's, trying to push her away.

_She could see herself scrubbing the cauldrons in Snape's class. She was serving detention. Severus Snape had been such a cruel git to them that many times she had doubted he was really on their side. If she had not seen him die protecting her she would have carried those doubts forever. Malfoy was working on a potion on the other side of the classroom. This had happened a year ago. She remembered this night now, the night she had saved Malfoy's life. _

_Neville had accidentally spilled Draco's potion earlier that morning. Hermione had gotten detention for standing up for the boy. Neville was serving detention with Filch and Malfoy was going to get double credit for re-doing his concoction. _

_"Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger" Snape walked in followed by Professor Sinistra and Flitwick. A statute was floating between them. "This is a Gonogreco. We are going to find a proper place to house it. For now, neither one of you is to touch or approach this. Is that understood?"_

_Her old self nodded. Malfoy glanced at the statute and then back at his potion as if uninterested. The statute was placed on Professor Snape's desk._

_"Are you sure its safe to leave it with the students, Professor Snape?" Flitwick squeaked. _

_"I am sure that at least one student here is responsible and competent enough for the both of them" Snape replied leading his colleagues out the door. _

_'Yeah, no need to try to hard to see who he meant' Hermione thought watching the students before her. She saw Malfoy approach the statute. He looked at it closer. It was no more than two feet high. A grotesque little creature sitting of Professor Snape's desk._

_"Malfoy, don't get close to that thing" her old self told him. _

_"Shut up, Mudblood" Draco hissed._

_Hermione had forgotten this incident. In the scheme of things, this night had been rather meaningless. She knew, however, that this was the reason she was alive now. Ron and Harry were somewhere else, still very much alive. Hermione wished she could go see them again, but like in a pensieve, she was tethered to Draco Malfoy's memory of the event._

_"I've heard of these" her old self continued. "Gonogrecos are trapped inside their rock cells. They feed of their victim's life force to free themselves. Aztecs believed that these were gods trapped inside these prisons. They used to feed them human sacrifices…"_

_"For the love of Merlin, Granger. Shut the hell up!" he shouted. "You know I go out of my way to ignore you, even though you are in my face constantly. What makes you think you have the right to speak to me?"_

_Her old self looked stunned. Hermione realized that Malfoy had always, honestly avoided her. Ron he taunted. Harry he threatened. Neville he terrorized. Hermione, he avoided- as much as he could. _

_Malfoy turned back to the statute and got closer, enthralled by the features on the ashen, polished rock. It was a gorgeous relic that would beautiful in his study. He reached up to caress the smooth stone. _

_"Malfoy!" her other self insisted moving towards him, leaving the cauldrons behind. Malfoy froze._

_Hermione felt apprehension build, watching the two of them, as she knew what would happen next. A green light connected the blond Slytherin's body with the statute. _

_Malfoy screamed. His body tensed and shook like if he was suffering from a fit. _

_"Its trying to take your life force, Malfoy, resist it!" her old self rushed to him, pulling out her wand. "REPELLO!" she cast a spell but nothing happened. _

_Malfoy's hand was getting closer, being forced forward. _

_"If I get too close it will pull me too" her old self hesitated. _

_He cried out, his back arching in pain, the green light growing stronger. _

_Her old self flung a cauldron at the statute, a powerful flash of red fire repelled it and sent it backwards-knocking her on the head. Getting herself back up, she looked around for another option._

_"GRANGER!" Malfoy roared. It was an unfinished sentence, it had been all he could manage. _

_She wasn't going to let him die- Hermione remembered exactly what her old self was thinking- I can not let him die before my eyes. _

_Her old self ran and tackled Malfoy with all her strength. The two of the collapsed on the ground, with her on top._

_"Malfoy!" she shook him. His eyes were open, he was alive but disoriented. "Malfoy, can you hear me?" she pulled him up into a sitting position. "We have to get you to the infirmary" _

_Everything went dark and Hermione found herself in the infirmary. Malfoy had opened his eyes. He was laying on one of the beds. _

_She saw her old self standing next to Madam Pomfrey, her fingers wringing nervously. Professor Snape and Dumbledore came in. _

_"He's going to be alright" Pomfrey announced. _

_"You stupid boy!" Snape shouted. "you were told not to touch the statute. As it stands you should consider yourself lucky that expulsion is your potential future. What exactly occurred Miss Granger?"_

_She watched her old self trade looks with Draco. Malfoy was angry, looking up Granger with hatred in his eyes. _

_"He.." she began. "He walked by it while getting some ingredients and it just pulled him to it. It has been known to happen, Professor, with people who have a strong life force. I pushed him away before it could force him to touch it"_

_Hermione saw the look of surprise on Draco's face. Her old self had been turned to Snape, she had not noticed this. Draco looked shocked and confused that Granger had covered for him._

_"Indeed Severus, Mr. Malfoy would not be here right now if he had touched it" Dumbledore contemplated. _

_"Are you aware you yourself could have been killed?" Snape turned his anger towards a new target, Granger._

_"Yes sir. The contact could have pulled me in also. If I had gone for help it would have been too late" her old self responded._

_Hermione smiled, watching her old self stand up to Snape. _

_"Both of you will serve detention"_

_"Sir, I did not know the creature would pull him in" her old self argued. _

_"But you knew that it has been known to occur" Snape chided. "Mr. Malfoy, did Miss Granger warn you against the Gonogreco?"_

_"No" Malfoy replied flatly. He did not bother looking at her. _

_"50 points from Gryffindor, for lack of human compassion" Snape announced._

_Harry and Ron had entered the room. The Professors exited. As she watched the trio together again Hermione felt her eyes fill with tears. _

_"We lost 50 points for saving that prat" Ron stated. "I think you deserve to have more points taken off and risking your life too!"_

_"If you knew it could kill you, mud blood" Malfoy drawled. "why didn't you jump in front of me and do us all a favor"_

_"You ungrateful little…" Harry pulled her back. _

"That's when you noticed me, isnt it?" she asked breathlessly. "Why I'm still alive?"

"Yes" Draco was laying on the ground. He opened his eyes, feeling weaker than ever. He gripped his wand and stood up "Finite Incantatem"

Hermione laughed as she stood up. "So they're still alive? Malfoy, you have got to be the most incompetent little…" Draco slapped her.

"They won't be alive for long, Granger" he smiled as tears sprung to her eyes. "We're just making sure they die slowly"

It was like a punch to her stomach. She had nothing to say, the image of her friends being tortured was somehow worse.

The encounter had not gone exactly as planned. He knew Granger would be a challenge and that's why she was here and not in a dungeon. She was his personal little project, he was going to break her. She was his. Although he was a little bruised inside, he had regained his pride by putting her in her place. He knew that the spell went both ways now- mental note: thank the Dark Lord for not warning me- and that whatever emotion he brought in affected what memory Granger showed him. He was making strides, he just wished he had more time.


	3. Little Traitor

Disclaimer: I dont own any rights and reap no benefits from what i do.

**Evening: Malfoy Manor**

"What are you two doing?" Zabini asked Crabbe and Goyle.

"We found Draco's mud blood. Seems she got out of her cage. We threw her down the chute" Goyle replied still laughing.

"Bloody hell, Goyle!" Zabini pushed past him and lifted the trap door. "Granger!" he called. "Granger, don't look into its eyes!"

Zabini's robes billowed behind him as he rushed towards Draco's office. Whether or not Malfoy cared, or whether he had authorized them to do this had to be verified. There was a reason Malfoy had wanted Granger alive, he wouldn't be at all surprised if the moron twins had decided to kill her without permission. He didn't bother knocking before entering.

"Malfoy, Granger escaped. Goyle tossed her down to the basement" he stated briefly.

"Granger! Can you hear me?" Malfoy shouted down the chute. There was a faint sound, a cry.

He turned to Goyle. "Stay here. I'm going to need your help to get back up. If Granger dies, Goyle," Malfoy sat at the edge of the opening. "I'm going to assign you to personally guard the artic for rebels" he hissed.

Goyle looked nervous. Malfoy slid down, landing hard on the wet basement below.

"Granger" called softly, keeping his eyes cast low.

"Malfoy, I feel it besides me" she replied in a weak voice.

"Don't look at it" he ordered.

"Its going to bite me" she chocked.

How could he aim a curse as the Basilisk he couldn't even look at? Suddenly he realized how stupid he had been. What on earth had he been thinking coming down here?

'How incredibly Gryffindor of me' he thought bitterly.

"Malfoy, its tail is right by you" she told him.

He dared to look around, keeping his eyes low. Granger was facing a corner a few meters from him, the snake was moving towards her.

"Coverta!" he aimed at the head of the snake.

The snake hissed, recoiling violently. The tail swung at him. Malfoy slammed against the wall with incredible force. He felt his nose break as his face came crashing against the solid concrete. He fell to the ground, his head spinning. The creature was now blinded, its eyes crystallized. It could still smell him, though. Malfoy did not have a second to regain his composure, the snake's mouth came diving down to him. Malfoy rolled away quickly.

"Stupefy!" he shouted.

The flash from his wand repelled the snake back. It would not be enough, however, he needed a lot more than that to hold off the basilisk.

The snake slammed its tail against him again, reeling its head back, as it hissed. Malfoy fell from the heavy weight and watched as the giant snake coiled itself around Granger. She screamed, fighting as the snake began to crush her.

"Stupefy!" he repelled the snake's fangs when they were inches from Granger's head. The basilisk, however, did not let her go.

"Kill it!" she shouted.

"Stupefy" he chanted right into the creature's open mouth. It collapsed on the ground.

He could hear Granger sobbing as she pushed frantically out of the basilisk's coils. There was that one moment of silence and weightlessness as the adrenalin in his body began to fade- that moment when one feel weaker than every.

Granger's cry of frustration made him snap back to attention. He went to her. She eagerly wrapped her arms around him as he began to pull her out. Malfoy thought it was ironic; it took a choice between him and a basilisk to get her to ease into his touch.

"You stupid girl" he hissed once she was out.

He pushed her off him so hard she fell back on the cold, wet, scaly basilisk

"It's still alive!" Hermione cried out in disgust moving away from the thing.

Her face was wet with tears and sweat. Her hair, never really giving off a kept appearance, was tangled knots and frizzy curls. She met his eyes and grew silent. He clenched his hands into fists, to control the urge to slap her. For someone who claimed to be so smart, she really was so incredibly stupid.

"Malfoy, its still alive" she ventured.

"Of course its still alive!" he shouted. "That basilisk is worth ten times what you are! The Dark Lord would lose it if I destroyed that creature. You know how rare they are? I hope I can reverse the bloody blinding spell" he was growing increasingly agitated. "What the hell were you thinking?"

She had no reply. Whatever she was going to reply would only serve to get him even angrier. In all honesty she would have welcomed death just a couple of days ago, now there was something she had to fight for.

"We have to get out of here before it wakes" he growled and pulled her roughly by the arm.

Hermione saw a body laying at the other side of the basement.

"Who is that?" she asked. His grip was becoming more painful as he kept his hand there. She tried to pull away from him.

"You don't want to know" he replied letting her go as they got to the tunnel they had slid down. "Goyle!" he shouted up.

The body was laying face down, from here she could not even tell if it was male or female.  
"You are lucky that thing is kept well fed" he told her. "GOYLE!" he roared making Hermione jump.

"You can't apparate out of here, I take it" she whispered.

"Yes, because being trapped in a dark dungeon of death would be so fearsome if you could just apparate yourself out of it" he stated sarcastically. He wiped some of the blood from his face. His nose had stopped bleeding, but he was filthy now. Draco grimaced accepting that he probably looked as disgusting as Granger did.

A half melted wax candlestick rolled down. A portkey.

"Well, well, well" Mc Nair smiled. "Been Basilisk wrestling, Malfoy?"

The portkey delivered them into the living room.

The crowd laughed. Draco shot him a dirty look.

"Oh, a new toy" Bellatrix walked up to them. "You want to join your friends in the dungeons?" she touched Hermione's face, caressing her.

Hermione pulled her face away defiantly.

"I don't understand why you risked your life for her" McNair continued. "Seems like you like rolling around in the mud too much"

Draco pointed his wand at McNair. His eyes were dead serious.

"Now, now, dear boy, don't get carried away. Avery is just being a fool" Bellatrix cooed gently lowering Draco's wand. "Let me take this filthy little thing from your hands while you get cleaned up"

"My house is not Azkaban, Mrs. Lestrange" Malfoy pulled Hermione possessively by one arm. "I told you I want those prisoners out of here. You can do what you please with them, but not in my home. I want them moved"

"Our Lord has given me more time. Its more convenient here, you see" she smiled.

'The bitch,' Malfoy though. 'She went around my orders'

"I told you that I want them out of my home" he intoned every word forcefully. "Therefore, I expect them to be gone by the end of the week" with that he led Hermione out of the room, towards the her prison.

"How did you get out?" he demanded tossing her inside the room.

"Why don't you drag it out of my mind?" she asked defiantly. "I see why you come here, it's the only place where you have some control…well, at least a hint of control" she mocked.

"Its falling into place, Granger, don't you worry your pretty little head" he smiled walking towards the window. He ran his hands through his platinum blond hair and nodded gently to himself as if accepting something.

"What are you going to do with my friends?" she asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Execute them"

"Then why are they still alive?" she demanded walking up to him.

"The Dark Lord wants a public execution to commemorate our victory over the Light" he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned on the window sill, now facing her. "It will be a grand affair" he raised his eyebrows to emphasize it, still smiling.

He could feel the hate in her eyes. He relished in it, letting her eyes burn his skin.

"Weasel will die first, of course. But it's good for you, now you don't have to make up your mind about which one to shag, you will only have one choice"

She rushed to attack him but he caught her hands mid-air. His reflexes were sharp, the war might be over in the scheme of things but the battles were still raging on. Malfoy laughed, his cold eyes watching Granger struggle to hurt him. He spun her around by the wrists, pulling her into him. Granger's back crashed against Malfoy's chest. He snaked his arms around her, still holding on to her wrists.

"I so enjoy our time together Granger" he whispered into her ear.

Malfoy's breath felt hot against her skin, it made her shiver. His voice was low and deep. Her breathing was sharp and unsteady, while his was calm and even.

"However" he continued softly, menacingly "there is a spy within my home. Actually there is more than one. Whoever helped you get out might lead me to the other"

Hermione stiffened.

"Although I have an idea who the first one is, he is rather inconsequential to the one who is within my peers"

Hermione reigned herself in, composing herself internally. He was not about to intimidate her.

"I don't know who your spy is, if there is one" she replied tartly. "Although, Malfoy, I would recommend you sleep with one eye open if living is what you want to do. It seems everyone around is ready to step on you"

"So who is my first little traitor, the one you know?" he asked.

"Afraid of using the spell again?" she shot back and laughed.

Malfoy tightened his hold, his face darkening in anger.

"Oh, come now Malfoy, when it comes to being an evil genius, you must admit, you are a poor and faded imitation of your father…although" Hermione kept pushing. "Didn't help the old albino much when Harry threw that Avada curse on him"

The smile on her face was deep and true. Malfoy hated it. He wanted to shake it off her, the smile her little Hero-Potter brought to her soul. But he wasn't about to let her win this one. He gripped her neck and began to squeeze.

"Come out little traitor" he called. "Or I'm going to pop heard head off her neck"

Hermione struggled, but his hold on her was too strong. She tried to pull away but it was no use, her hearing was becoming tunneled.

'Bloody Malfoy! You're not going to kill me!' she thought to herself as she kept trying to pry his fingers from her neck. There was a sense of urgency, of panic as she began to realize that he was by far much stronger than she was.

A 'pop' sound echoed in the room, but Hermione did not hear it. She felt herself fall to the ground with great force. Malfoy had tossed her aside and reached for the small house elf that had appeared in the room.

"Doby" Malfoy smiled. "So good to see you're doing well"


	4. One More Time

Disclaimer: i have no copyrights, do not intend to infringe. i do this for fun only.

* * *

The house elf whimpered but remained still.

"So you helped the mudblood get out…who helped you get in?" he asked.

The little creature pursed his lips to emphasize he was not going to speak.

"Leave…" Hermione stood up gasping. "Leave him alone, Malfoy. Pick on someone your own size"

"Oh, I intend to" he glanced at her. "As soon as I know who to go after" he shook the helpless little creature and when he stopped felt Dobby tremble in his hands.

"Dobby is a free elf, he does not have to answer" he replied.

"Yes, Dobby is free to deny my requests…however" he looked over at Granger. "I can keep you here and make you watch while I torture the mudblood to death"

Dobby's eyes widened further in terror.

"Don't listen to him Dobby, he won't do it" she called to him. "Harry wouldn't want you to tell Malfoy anything"

With a flick of his wand Dobby was trapped inside ice. He placed the house elf on the table. Hermione raised her chin when Malfoy turned to her. She could see Dobby's little eyes moving from side to side, inside his transparent cage.

"Alright, then Granger" the two of them were facing each other now. "Your turn"

Hermione smiled faintly, ready for the challenge. "Let's go Malfoy"

He had to control his emotions. He had to focus and feel exactly what he wanted Granger to show him. It was need, it was something needed. He needed the information, he needed to know how the elf had been let in and by whom and at the time Granger had needed to escape. With a deep breath he let himself feel need. Malfoy mumbled the incantation and felt himself pulled inside her mind.

_"Fuck!" Granger hissed when the chair she had thrown at the window bounced back to her. Hermione growled and covered her face. "I'm going to get you guys out. I swear it" she cried out._

_Composing herself she turned to the door. He could tell that she had been down that path already. _

_'Pop!' the little sound startled her. _

_"I'm here to help Hermione Granger, so she can help Harry Potter" the little elf stated valiantly. _

_"Oh dear lord!" a sense of relief washed over her face. "Please, we must do this fast. Malfoy could return any minute"_

_"Dobby will…"_

_There was silence. Malfoy looked around the room, as if someone had turned off the sound. _

_"Bloody hell Granger!" he growled and concentrated harder. _

_"There is a passage that will lead…"_

_Everything went dark._

Malfoy stumbled back out of Hermione's memory, into the room where Granger was sitting across him.

"My turn Malfoy!" Granger hissed.

"How did Dobby get in?" Malfoy asked before Hermione could avoid the question.

Hermione smiled and began to answer the question, but as Malfoy feared he was not able to get the response before she pushed into his mind.

_"Finally" Lord Voldemort smiled. "Harry Potter"_

_Hermione watched Harry stand his ground. He was wandless, surrounded by death eaters. Ron was on the floor, wounded. They were making their last stand. _

_"I will take great pleasure in doing this" Voldemort smiled. _

_Hermione saw Malfoy standing behind Voldemort. He looked like he was pre-occupied with something else. _

_"Cruccio" Voldemort cast the curse. _

_Harry doubled over in pain, but surprisingly so did Voldemort. The spell broke almost immediately. _

_"Ah, Riddle, you were going to torture me to death?" Harry stated in a arrogant voice, the surprise from the crowd feeding his courage. "Tsk, tsk, that won't do"_

_All of the wizards in the room were dumbfounded. Hermione saw a few take a small step back. She could read it in their faces…'was he truly invinsible?'_

_Malfoy stepped up, wand raised, pointed at Harry._

_"What are you up to Potter?" he asked. _

_"Nothing" Harry smiled. _

_"We have your mudblood" he threatened. "She's still alive. She's in my keep…and the best part is she can still feel"_

_Harry's smile faded. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. _

_"Afraid to try to kill me, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Your father almost succeeded? Want to try your luck?"_

_Malfoy smiled faintly. "You want me to kill you for a reason. It wont bounce back at me…I saw you cast it breathlessly a few seconds ago"_

_"You do keep your eye on me, Malfoy. I can honestly say I'm flattered, not interested but flattered" Harry taunted. _

_Voldemort stood up, regaining his composure with the assistance of Bellatrix. _

_"It is a binding spell" Voldemort announced. _

_Harry smiled. _

_"But the prophesy says…" Voldemort seemed genuinely unnerved._

_"Fuck the prophesy. I am more powerful than fate and than you, apparently" Harry told Voldemort, staring defiantly into his eyes. "One cannot live without the other, Riddle. How do you like that one?"_

Hermione fell back into the room. Malfoy had broken the spell.

"Who is Dobby's contact?" Malfoy asked breathlessly.

"Rockwood" she answered unable to control the automatic response to his spell. She kept her hands on his wand, keeping him from breaking the spell. They were both too exhausted, however to fight too hard.

He fell forward on to her and they were in a memory again.

_Malfoy was kissing Pansy. The two were breathless, the bed-sheets on the floor, pillows everywhere._

_"And here I thought we were over" she mumbled. _

_"We are" he replied moving away from her. _

_"Who is it that keeps you so preoccupied?" Pansy asked watching him. _

_Hermione averted her eyes when Malfoy stood up to reach for his pants. His body was lean, slim and well defined. His blond hair fell on his eyes, he was turned from Pansy, clear in view of Hermione._

_"I'm very busy with real life issues, Pansy. Why do you always assume its another woman?" he asked._

_"Cause you have always been busy" she replied stretching lazily on the bed. "But lately…there is something else in your mind"_

_"Is your mother passing on her legilimency knowledge on you again?" he asked with a sigh. _

_Pansy smiled. "Please, Draco, its not like I have anything for you. We're just friends and friends don't keep secrets"_

_"Wrong" he turned to her as he tucked his shirt in. "Best friends don't keep secrets…you and I are not quite that close" _

_"Well, I know you were thinking of someone else while we were in bed. You really do leave yourself far too open when you're being 'intimate'" she said the last word sarcastically._

_"Ah, Pans" he leaned on the bed and kissed her. "How could I not thrust myself open before such a warm and emotional woman as you. You make go all soft and mushy inside. Can't keep it within me" _

_"You can keep that within me as often as you like" she teased reaching for his crotch. "As long as you tell me who it is you see when you close your eyes. I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours"_

_"Doubt it would be of much interest to me…and plus, I'm bloody exhausted"_

_"She's missing out on an amazing treat. I don't know why you don't let her know…wait, she's not Zabini's mother is she?" Pansy asked._

_"Later Pans"_

Hermione was on her back. Malfoy's lips were pressed against hers. He pushed away suddenly when he saw where he truly was and finished the spell.

"Hurts doesn't it, Malfoy?" she asked.

Draco said nothing. He was silent. They were both weak now. He was leaning against a chair. Pansy had been killed during the raid. She had been a casualty…an innocent casualty.

"So you lost your love too" Hermione smiled.

"Didn't love Parkinson" he replied. "Just want to silence that little rumor before it starts. Don't think you've found some kind of weak spot"

"No? Then why are you so unnerved?" she asked. "You're..you're looking paler than usual" she laughed.

Hermione stood up with great effort. Malfoy caught his breath, still staring at her but said nothing.

"What?" she asked. "A little too much for you?"

Why was she being so cruel? He wondered. Suddenly it smacked him deep in the chest. He felt weak. He needed to get out. Quick!

"Where are you going?" she pulled him by the arm. "Going to try to figure out how you're going to plug that leaky wall of betrayal? Traitors are all around you"

Her words were searing. He felt alone.

"I saved your life, Granger" he mumbled.

"You think you did me a favor?" she shouted gripping him with hatred. "I am a trapped by a wizard who isn't even worthy of kissing my fiancée's shoes. A wizard that my best friend would walk all over without even trying. You are worthless, you are nothing. You are worse than death"

He pulled away from her. Staring at as if he had never seen her before.

"It was me" she whispered suddenly realizing something. "It was me that you saw when you fucked Pansy"

Malfoy was horrified, shaking inside, but he did not show it. Years of learning how to hide his emotions paid off.

"Aaahh, Malfoy" she cooed. "You should have told me sooner. I wouldn't have ever dreamed of being with Ron if I knew I could have someone like you" she broke into laughter.

"Bitch" he pulled his arm free.

"Don't give yourself so much credit, mudblood. I have you here because I need to know how to break the spell" he told her.

"Is that all?" she mocked. "Because you better decide soon. Do you want to fuck me or kill me, Malfoy? You better do it soon because I am not staying in this cage much longer. I rather be dead than be trapped in here while they are out there"

"Believe me, Granger, you soon won't have much reason to keep living" he left her, locking the door behind him.

His chest was pounding as he leaned on the door. His forehead pressed against the heavy, enchanted door. The pressure was increasing, the pressure was getting to him. He knew what it felt like now, to be submersed in a moment, to relive a moment and then to have it brutally torn from you. He didn't love Pansy, he never had, but she had been his closest friend. She had been the only person he had ever felt he could completely trust. He now truly knew what it felt like to feel alone.

A second of panic and he forced himself to regain composure. The mudblood had unnerved him. She had gone right through him but he had a lot to do and didn't have time for that nonsense. Malfoy was going to gather his Captains. There was some housekeeping business he had to tend to.


	5. The pact

Disclaimer: I have no rights and this is done simply for fun. All characters belong to ms J.K.

Malfoy couldn't sleep. He couldn't figure out exactly who he could trust anymore. His father had been a hard-ass but the man had always been on his side. He had trusted Pansy and never been let down. Aside from that he had never trusted anyone. The truth was the he had never thought he would ever feel this way. He always prided himself on being independent, on not needing anyone.

'What the bloody hell is wrong with you?' he asked himself.

He sat up and walked to the window. Malfoy hadn't expected peace and quiet, he had never imagined he wouldn't have to fight to remain where he was- but right now he honestly never expected the pressure he felt.

'What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting like prat' he chided himself.

It's not like he had ever truly trusted Voldemort, the way his father had, and perhaps that's what made his situation so precarious. He was a servant of a man whom he did not trust. True, the old crow had delivered on his promises, but he also knew how easily he could replace any of them. There were no loyalties amongst death eaters and that is why he had a dark mark on his arm- to make it easy to supervise him.

He would go to Blaise with this information. Rockwood had to be working with some of the older ones, if any at all. Anyone who would want Malfoy to lose face was going to be suspect. He had a plan now, and it set him at ease. He was going to have to deal with the deadline calmly; tomorrow he had to make sure to play it right. Tomorrow he had to make sure he could take the upper hand and not let Granger keep wiping the floor with him- cause quite honestly that's what she had been doing.

Malfoy smiled to himself, amused at the turn of events.

**Early Morning:**

"The spell that you used on the D.A. members, remember?" Malfoy asked Granger. "To spot someone who betrayed your secret meetings"

"You could have freed him" she mumbled.

"Oh, come-on Granger, it was a house elf" Malfoy sneered.

Dobby was dead, still trapped in the ice. He could tell she had tried to chip away at the block, tried to free him. For a moment, for half a second, he felt bad for Granger.

"I have to erase your memory" Malfoy announced. "I have to obliviate you" he shrugged matter of factly turning to face her.

She watched him, but said nothing for a few seconds.

"You're going to erase me. Make me nothing, you will get your wish after all" she sighed. "You're going to turn me into your puppet"

He sat down on the edge of the window. His eyes were on the wand in his hands, and then they shifted to Granger. Her eyes were unfocused; she smiled at some memory that had just crossed into her mind. Was she trying to enjoy those wonderful things one last time, before they were gone forever? Suddenly she looked up at him. Malfoy blinked and looked away, he had been caught off guard, left himself open and her eyes had penetrated right through him.

"You don't want to do it, do you?" she sat up. "You bargained for a few days with me, to violate my mind, to pick up on my secrets and life. You'd figure you'd be satiated, bored. You bore quickly"

He stood up without answering.

"But you're not bored of me yet" she whispered. "There would be nothing to torture, there would be no fun left for you"

"I will do my best to deal with the loss" he said walking back towards her.

"I can offer you an oath" she stated quickly watching the wand as he shifted it in his hand. "I know you need help. I know you keep coming here for spells that you don't know how to control. I can help you keep your place in power. I won't help you against my friends but I can help you against my enemies"

It had sounded too much like begging to her. Her voice had been scared and high pitched. Malfoy was not going to win. He was never going to make her beg for anything, no matter what cost.

"Fine, go ahead, obliviate me! It will be great not to feel the pain and loss I feel. I will be an empty slave and you can make up stories about my past, but for all you know I won't like you, no matter how much you lie. I mean Nott is pretty cute and he's trying to climb up the ladder, all of you will be the same to me…"

"We started dating 6th year. Potter and Weasel were so jealous of everything I had…of me…" he said. "You were crazy over me and dumped Potter…"

"Oh please" she rolled her eyes.

"You better start memorizing this" he told her. "Because if we're discovered, we're both dead"

"What?"

"And I will instate a life bind. You will owe me your life" he told her. "And help me in any way I ask you to"

"You're not going to obliviate me?" she asked.

"Why erase your suffering?" he shrugged. "I haven't broken you yet and I never fail to reach my goals. Plus, just because I haven't tired of you, doesn't mean I never will. I am not good at doing what I'm told to do when it's not what I want" he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a mischievous smile. "Guess the Dark Lord will have to learn that the hard way"

"You will give me Ronald" she stated. "You will help him escape"

"You're mad" he dismissed.

"That's fine, Slytherin, if that's your choice. You can't bind me to you without my consent and you can't make sure I won't give you spells that won't back fire on you"

He pointed his wand at her.

"Malfoy, it will no longer be me" she breathed staring into his silver eyes.

"A binding oath" he said. "You will bind yourself to me in exchange for your life"

"And Ronald's" she added.

He nodded.

"So you better start learning to forget your life and learning my lies. The Dark Lord wants an audience with you tonight" he smiled. "He finds this whole situation rather amusing…a muggle-born acting like a pureblood-mudblood hater"

"I want to see them, Malfoy" she whispered standing up, staring into his silver eyes.

**Evening: Malfoy Manor**

Hermione soothed her crimson dress again. She was nervous. Would Voldemort be able to tell? Would she be able to bear seeing Harry and Ron? Had that been a mistake? No, she had to know they were still alive, she had to see them.

"My Lord, may I present my fiancée Miss Hermione Granger" Malfoy announced proudly in the room, bowing to Voldemort.

Hermione bowed also.

"Miss Granger, so good to see that you are doing well. Young Mr. Malfoy has been worried" he told her kissing her hand.

"I would like to thank you for helping me Lord Voldemort, Draco told me you are the reason we are all alive. I am grateful you had enough strength to fight against the Order" she smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. Young Malfoy informed me you wanted to see your assailants" he told her.

Hermione nodded bravely.

Voldemort turned and led them to the next room. Hermione cast Malfoy a terrified glance. His eyes were like ice- she had asked for this; there would be no comfort from him. She had to be as cold as he was. She stiffened her back and made her way forward taking Malfoy's arm.

Harry and Ronald were chained to a wall. Their hands were in metal cuffs. Their bodies looked bruised and battered, as did their faces and their eyes.

"Mione!" Ron saw her first.

Hermione tensed.

"My love, these are the men who erased your memory when they tried to kill us" Malfoy told her and kissed her cheek. Hermione met their eyes.

"Hermione?" Harry barely mumbled.

She could feel the tears rising to her eyes. Blinking them away she surprised herself by not feeling anything. It took all her strength and she knew it would not last, everything that mattered to her was here and all she wanted to do was run to them, to embrace them. The only way to save them, though, was for her to be strong and she was amazed at the strength and courage she was able to muster for those she loved. She was amazed by how fearless they made her.

"You bastard! Malfoy! I'm going to kill you!" Ronald cried and thrashed against his shackles, pulling like a wild wounded beast. "Hermione, you were mine!" he sobbed. "I love you and you loved me!"

"Mione, you have to remember!" Harry looked at her. "Mione, look at me!"

Hermione pulled her eyes away. From the corner of her eyes she saw Harry hang his head forward, defeated.

"Silencio" Voldemort cast a spell on them and now their mouths were covered by a black vine that wrapped around their neck.

"We will execute the red-headed one to commemorate our defeat of the opposition" Voldemort announced.

"Oh, no" she cried. She caught herself, when everyone in the room stared at her. "I feel nothing but pity for them. Draco told me he was misguided by this one" she pointed her finger at Harry. "Lord, this red-headed boy is a pureblood, surely we can spare his existence"

"Ah, my dear Hermione. They might have taken your memories but they have not taken your kind and compassionate heart" Draco took her hand and embraced her. "My love, these two took so much from us. You don't even remember the day I proposed to you in the Great Hall at our school" he smiled glancing cruelly at Ron.

Ron thrashed in his binds, muffled cries from his covered mouth.

"You're right darling, some things don't deserve to be forgiven" she whispered weakly. Draco had pulled her out of that one. He had given her the opportunity to reposition herself, she could not be ungrateful by not taking his help.

Draco pulled her closer to the two captives as Voldemort lost interest and moved towards his chair. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"She is mine, now and forever and you will never be able to touch her again" Draco stared into Harry's eyes.

Hermione saw Ronald turn to face Harry, a questioning look in his eyes. Harry broke the stare with Draco and looked back at Ron. The two stared at each other for a couple of seconds. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out. Ron's face slowly revealed a deeper pain as he realized what had happened between the two. Harry looked away when a tear slipped down Ron's cheek. Draco laughed. He nuzzled Hermione's neck lustily. "I love the way she holds her breath in a gasp when she's about to cum, but then again, both of you already know that" he smirked.

Draco turned her to him. He kissed her passionately, touching her body in a possessive way. Hermione bit his tongue, brutally. Draco snapped back as calmly as he could, swallowing the blood- his eyes warning her.

"The two of you are invited to our wedding" he finished. "Come along my love" he pulled her.

Hermione gave them one last look. Harry looked up, something in his eyes lit up. Did he see her? Did he recognize the fact that she was still there. Her eyes shifted to Ron who was now pulling against his chains in a subdued hopeless way. He just wanted to hold her again, she could read it in his face- Ronald, Ronald, I love you. But he could not see, he did not see her the way Harry did and this crushed her, because Harry could know her in a way Ronald never could.


	6. the escape

Disclaimer: I get nothing but pleasure and distraction for writing this. I have no rights over the characters

Yeay! Due to all the wonderful reviews I decided to keep updating this one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed :). Also, I do try to ensure that I catch any glaring mistakes or errors but I get exited to post a chapter once I finish it- so please notify me of any uncorrected errors.

seghen: no, i have not read Hannibal- just seen Silence of the Lambs...but wow! thanks for the comparison

Quinn Bella Riddle: am I H/Hr, R/hr or D/H...you'll have to find out, Muaawhhaha  
strawberrylemonade520: "death eater draco" in character.. thanks, he's totally in character in my warped little world :)

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"You bastard!" she slapped him. "You piece of shit!" she lunged at him, trying to claw his face. 

Malfoy grabbed her wrists, a smile in his face.

"Ah, I knew it would be worth it" he told her, after she calmed down. "So now you have to prepare yourself for dinner tonight, shall we snog now or later- darling?" he asked.

"I'm not touching you" she hissed.

Draco pushed her back dismissively but so roughly that she fell to the ground. He turned away, pacing towards the door.

"Don't even dream that this whole wedding thing is going to happen. It's all a show. It's all to mock you and yours. The Dark Lord thought it would be a lovely idea to torture those two fools he's got chained up in there" he smiled. "I love the fact that you are aware of it and so will your little friends on the outside. It's going to be big news. We are hoping some of them will show to try to rescue you" he stated the last words sarcastically.

Hermione shook her head in disgust as he turned to face her.

"I have to get working on getting your Weasel free, preparing for the wedding and the next assault on muggle Europe. I don't want to have to worry about you, do you understand? Don't make me regret the bargain and change my mind"

Hermione stared at him. Their eyes met for a few seconds, a battle of wills. Was she really submitting to him? Was she really going to go along with it? Even she didn't know. All that mattered now, more than her pride and anything else, was getting Ronald free. She would deal with everything else later.

Draco was trying to read her mind, through her eyes. He could feel the hatred. There was something else there, she was plotting something. With her he could never tell. What was Weasley going to be worth anyway? He was a fool, he won't be any trouble once freed and he was going to be easy to kill while he was out with the rebels. Malfoy was going to set all his forces to chase him down like a dog, take him out once and for all. The boy was not going to last a week, so all that mattered was that he freed him this once.

He ran his hand through his blond hair as he turned back to the door and Hermione got a sudden memory of running her fingers through his hair- his hair had been very soft, like Ron's. She had felt his hair during one of the many memories he had forced her to relive, when she thought she was touching Ron, but instead had been touching him. Slowly standing up she cringed at her own thoughts: was Draco's hair really that soft? Or was it only the memory of Ron's that made her think it was.

Unable to help herself she lunged at him from behind and yanked on his hair- which turned out to feel exactly as she expected it to.

"You bloody…" he pried her hands from his hair. "Are you mad?"

"Just slightly!" she hissed. "After all, I did make a pact with the devil!"

She was seething, she hated him, she wanted to tear him to pieces with her hands and she was crying as she stared at him.

"You got the better end of the deal here, mudblood" he growled at her.

"You think so?" she stared him down. "I think you're the one who needs me. So how about I tell you that I don't have to worry about you? If you don't save Ronald, by god Malfoy, I will tear you apart"

Malfoy couldn't control the smile. He tried to keep it as minimal as possible. She was trying to threaten him, to intimidate him and he found it incredibly amusing. The last thing he wanted to do, however, was anger the harpy before him.

"So I take it no kiss and 'see you later honey'?" he mocked, unable to hold back.

She pushed away from him.

"Get lost"

**Blaise Zabini's Apartment: Friday Afternoon:**

"Ronald Weasley is being transferred to the site of his execution. Malfoy is going to partake in a mock-wedding, which will be used to lure some of the rebels to come to Hermione Granger's rescue. More than anything, though, I think the Voldemort wants Potter to witness the whole thing" Blaise Zabini shrugged his shoulder as he talked to Lavander Brown. "Think it might help crush him"

"Hmm, poor Ronald" she sighed.

"Poor Ronald indeed" Blaise sat up, leaving Lavander in behind in bed as he reached for his clothes. "I got to get to the Manor early, help prepare for this whole mess tonight"

"Are you going to come back for me or should I just meet you there?" Lavander asked reaching for her own clothes.

"I'll just meet you there. I'll be too busy tonight to come back" he reached for his shirt. "Did you sign your name on the list I gave you?"

"Yep" she smiled looking at him. He really was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

"Great, then you won't have a hard time getting in" he smiled taking the parchment and putting it in his jacket pocket. "Just close the door behind you"

"I'm really glad you called Blaise" she smiled.

"I'm glad I called too" he nodded before walking out. The list was now complete, time to hand it to Malfoy. Everyone who would be attending tonight had written their name on the parchment. What had happened between him and Lavander last night, that had just been an on the job bonus.

**Malfoy Manor: Friday Afternoon**

Ronald was to be burned to death. The site had already been built. At sunset the ceremony would start. That was only a few hours away. Ronald was being led by two armed men towards the raised platform where he was going to be tied and left to wait his death tonight.

He wasn't scared. Only Hermione kept going through his mind as he made his way to the gardens, across the courtyard. The platform was clearly in view now, but it made no difference to him.

'She's gone. She's gone' his mind would repeat over and over. His heart, however, would tell him that even though her mind was gone, her heart was still there. It was still Hermione, under Malfoy's lies and he should not be so accepting of death. He should be trying to rescue her. 'She's gone' his mind would repeat whenever an ounce of hope or any desire to do something stirred up in him.

It was no use trying to focus on that pain. The real pain, the one he was trying to hide, the one he didn't want to have while he died was the fact that Harry had betrayed him. Ron knew he had seduced her. Ron knew that he had not been content to be the boy who lived, the quidditch hero, everyone's favorite martyr, he also had to prove that he could have had her- if he wanted her. It made Ron sick to think like this. It made him sick to start down that train of thought because it led to the fact that Harry had failed- their little hero, his best friend, had let them all down and everything in his life was gone, everyone's lives had been destroyed.

'Harry didn't mean to fail' he would tell himself. 'No one feels this more than him' he would continue. His heart did not believe it, was Harry the biggest loser here? Had Harry's life been worth anything to him before the world came crashing down? Had he just led them on a crazy suicide mission because in the end he really had nothing to lose and a hero's title to gain? Had he been desperate enough for more glory that this had happened?

'Harry failed' he thought to himself. 'He wasn't supposed to fail. Had he just not tried hard enough? Had the cockiness he had developed in the last few months been the reason that Voldemort and his freaks had destroyed everything? Had Harry just thrown in the towel? Why had he failed? Why had he let them all down? Why had he ever trusted Harry Potter, a frail, darkhaired boy with really, really bad luck'

A small house-elf popped in front of him and stunned the two men beside him with a quick spell that shot past Ron. Ronald was so shocked by the occurrence he didn't have time to react and neither did his guards. Standing there as the two guards regained their footing all he could see now was Draco Malfoy heading their way.

"Stop him! He's trying to escape!" Malfoy shouted.

The two guards were reaching for their wands, but the small house elf bit the hand of the first guard to reach for his.

"Petrificus totalus!" Malfoy chanted and aimed his wand at the guard to Ron's left. Ron was running now, but he was running directly at Malfoy. "Stupefy!" he stunned the other guard.

Before Malfoy could cast a third spell, to stop Ron, he was on the ground with Ron pummeling him in the face. There was no thought to go for Malfoy's wand, no thought of escape, just the sheer bliss of feelings his fists collide with Draco Malfoy's face. He punched harder and harder, relentlessly feeling a bone break under his hand- this only made him want to punch harder.

"STOP!" a high pitched voice shouted.

Ron looked up. Hermione was running from the courtyard, she was dressed in a long white gown, with slim sleeves that reached her hands. Her hair was free and flying messily as she rushed towards the two men.

"Mione!" Ron stood up immediately. She had come back for him. She was here with him now. Ronald smiled and moved towards her, Hermione froze and stared at him with something akin to terror in her eyes.

"Go!" Malfoy coughed from below. "Get out of here, you stupid fool"

Ron glanced at him, not really listening before turning back to Hermione. "Mione, come with me. I know you're scared but you know it inside, you know that we love each other"

Hermione glanced looked at his outstretched hand and then cast a glance at Malfoy, on the ground.

"Mione, he's lying to you. They took you from me!" he shouted and he knew that 'they' was more than Malfoy and his death eaters, but also Harry. "We have to go"

"No, you have to go! This is your only chance, Weasley. She doesn't know you anymore" Malfoy told him slowly getting up.

Ron turned and kicked him. "Shut up, Malfoy!" he roared.

Hermione yelped.

"Come with me!" Ron turned to her and was about to run to grab her when she turned and ran as fast as she could towards the house. Stunned Ron glanced at Malfoy, whose face was covered in blood.

"I told you Weasley" he stated. "She's mine"

"I will be back for her" Ron threatened, every ounce of his being begging him to run after her. There was nothing in the world without her. His mind, however, knew he had to let her go- for now.

"Brilliant plan, mate, but first you need to leave in order to come back for her"

Ron started to run when he heard other men approach.


	7. Im with you

disclaimer: i have no rights and these characters aren't mine.

Thanks for the reviews everyone

strawberrylemonade520: great! thanks :( my melodrama, soap-style story had you laughing. Yeah, i tend be over dramatic :) I could not help the whole burning at the stake thing...i mean they are witches, ect, but it is a VERY muggle thing to do. I know, I know...

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"My Lord, I can not be held responsible for the safety of everyone in this household if I am not allowed to be in absolute control" Draco Malfoy bowed before Voldemort in the dinner hall. 

Voldemort sat in his usual throne looking down at the three servants who had failed him.

"How could a mere house elf cause this much trouble?" Voldemort roared.

"My lord, someone allowed the house elf to enter the grounds. We were betrayed from within. I have a plan to deal with the culprit. I promise to hand him to you tonight" Malfoy looked up, to gauge his reaction.

"Clean yourself, Young Malfoy, you are dismissed. You may do as you see fit to ensure the safety of your home. Go get those wounds take care of" Voldemort motioned with him away with his hand. Draco could tell he was displeased, with him- for the first time ever.

It would be better tonight, when he handed the old man a couple of his own death eaters as traitors. If Rockwood had allowed Dobby in, the dark lord would know he was lying when he replied that he had nothing to do with house-elf break ins. So if he let one in to get Granger to cause some trouble, why wouldn't he let in the other one to rescue Ron? Ah, poor Rockwood- the traitor. Malfoy smiled as he headed up towards Granger's room.

The ceremony for tonight had been cancelled. It was post-phoned for a couple of days. He had to get Granger to bind herself to him, soon. Today, though, today she had been free to run. She could have left with Weasley, but she had kept her word and stayed behind- without having to. Malfoy slowed his step as he got closer to her room. She was free to roam around Malfoy Manor now, with limitations- so he wasn't surprised not to find her in her room. What did surprise him, however, was his disappointment.

Nothing seemed out of place. Pinky had performed well this morning. Zabini had given him the parchment with everyone's names listed. He just needed Granger to work the spell impeccably. Then they would see traitor on the face of anyone who had allowed a house elf in. His original idea was to find anyone who had allowed someone to escape- but there were obvious flaws with wording it so ambiguously- might catch himself in that net. Zabini had opposed the idea of asking to show anyone who had tried to save one of our enemies….well enemies, Zabini reasoned, could have many definitions.

Malfoy looked around the room as he waited. She hadn't left with him today. He smiled weakly to himself as he noticed the ingredients she had strewn around the ground. Why in god's earth was he trusting her?

The hesitation returned. What if she was plotting something of her own? He wasn't stupid; he knew she had her own motives for doing what she was doing. Weasley was free, Longbottom was going to be moved to Azkaban now- no more of Bellatrix's dungeon capers… she was getting something out of this, he just had to make sure he got more. He had to make sure that he could sense things about her…he heard footsteps. He needed to catch her off guard. Why had she stayed today? Why hadn't she gone with Weasley? He took a deep breath and cast his spell as soon as she walked through the door.

_"Harry I don't think that we should go in so fast" Ron stated uncomfortably. _

_"What are you talking about?" Harry didn't look at his friend. _

_"I agree with Ron, Harry, we need to formulate a more solid plan, with a few more alternatives" Lupin nodded._

_Hermione was watching Harry for a reaction. _

_"It will work, trust me" Harry didn't look up from the maps lying on the table. "With Bill and Neville making sure to guard the doors…"_

_"What if they follow us back, Harry?" Ron asked, again submissively. Draco could tell the red-head did not want to be asking those questions, but there was too much doubt._

_"And we also don't know exactly what security measures they have in place…"Lavander Brown shifted in her seat. _

_Ron glanced at her. Hermione didn't miss it. Draco smiled as he watched Ron blush when his eyes shifted to Hermione's un-approving gaze._

_"Plus, with all the …" Harry pounded his fist and stood, this silenced Seamus. _

_"I am the head of the order" he announced. "With Dumbledore gone I call the shots"_

_"I think you are mistaken about that, Harry" Lupin argued._

_"Don't even give me that. I am the one who has to decide and I am the one who has to live with the choices. I am tired of listening to everyone. I told all of you that Malfoy was up to no good, before- and no one believed me. I told all of you that…""Harry, stop" Ginny said gently, trying to put her hand over his. Harry pulled his hand away and gave her a warning look. _

_"We attack them, before they attack us" Harry spat. "No more waiting, as they pick us off one by one. There is not going to be more death"_

_Mrs. Weasley dabbed her eyes. Arthur had died yesterday. George had been taken captive last week. Their numbers were dwindling, their hope was fading. _

_"You have been obsessed with getting Snape" Ron added. "I just don't think that the fact that he is going to be there makes it the perfect time to strike. What if it's personal and not rational?"_

_"That's the most complete thought you've had all year, Ron, thanks for sharing" Harry glanced at him. "For now, though, why don't you let the rest of us do the thinking"_

_Ron sat up straight. The rest of the room shifted uncomfortably. Ron took it. Malfoy smiled. He was going to take it alright…that was probably the reason Harry was going to go bang his fiancée later on that night- this was the evening before the last fight. So it had been Snape who had helped him change the prophesy, it was Snape who had given him the binding spell. Snape had been close enough to the dark lord to cast it… not even Granger had known. _

_"You need to settle down Harry…"_

_"No, Remus, you need to follow orders" Harry looked around the room. There were about 12 people watching him. "I respect you as an elder. I respect you as a person who knew my parents and someone who has risked his life for this cause. Now you have to respect me as someone who has been chosen to take him out. It is going to be me against Riddle and I'm done playing by his timeline. Not losing anymore friends"_

_Harry walked away from the table. Hermione followed, Draco being tugged by the memory._

_"Harry!" she called as slammed the door to Sirius' old room. Without knocking she made her way in. _

_"Not, you too Mione" he had his back to her. _

_"No, I'm with you" she told him._

_Harry turned, surprised._

_"I am with you all the way" she tried to smile but there were tears in her eyes. "I think I know what you're trying to do…its do or die"_

_"I can't sit around and wait for him to kill me. I must go in..."_

_"and not give him the chance to do it on his terms. I understand"_

_"I want to make sure you got my back" he approached her. "That I can count on you…I don't know how much support I have left and if others will…"_

_"I'm with you Harry. I'm with you all the way. I swear I will always have your back" she smiled before walking out._

"Why the bloody hell did you do that?" she demanded pushing him back.

Draco was silent. They were both exhausted from the memory. He noticed now that her eyes were red, she had been crying.

'It was Potter', he thought biterly.'Potter was the reason she had stayed behind. Bloody Potter, couldn't leave her hero behind'

"Where were you?" he demanded, his voice low.

"You couldn't just ask me that?" she sneered.

"Where were you, Granger?" he tossed himself on the chair by the window.

"I was getting supplies" she tossed a couple of small packets of crushed leaves at him. They scattered like potpourri on his chest and legs.

"Why don't you tag me, Malfoy?" she demanded condescendingly. "Make me wear a little homing device?"

"You know you have boundaries" he replied reaching to brush the dry specs from his shirt.

"No!" she stood up. "Don't do that! Damn, you Malfoy" she rushed to him. "Gregious root is very rare…won't be able to finish the spell without it"

Draco looked up from his shirt. His silver eyes watched her as she leaned down and began to carefully pick out the leaves from his shirt. Her honey colored eyes were focused on his chest. There was a scent of smoke on her hair.

"Been brewing potions again, Granger?" he asked.

"Nothing that will harm you" she didn't meet his eyes. "Yet" she smiled faintly.

Draco grabbed her hand, gripping it he yanked her forward. Hermione fell upon his chest, her face inches from his. He remained calm as she stared at him with shocked eyes. She had been this close to him before, but not ever had she felt so conscious of it.

"No games, Granger" he growled. "No games, or what little you have left won't survive. I don't mean just your Potter and your little friends, I mean you. I can use any curse I want on you and I can remove my protection at any time. You have your dignity, your sanity, yourself…don't play with that"

Hermione was frozen staring at him. There was something burning between her chest and her stomach. It felt like shards of glass were being dragged in circles inside.

"I have been more patient with you than I should have. Don't push me" he stood up, making her fall to the ground. Hermione remembered to breathe again and the remembered the task at hand.

"Malfoy! I needed those! How in god's name am I supposed to finish the potion now?" she chided him.

"You figure it out!" he shouted, angry at being questioned."That is your problem! That is the only reason you are here, remember that" he hissed. "I want that done in an hour. Everyone needs pulls their weight to stay alive, and you are no exception. If you are of no use to me, there is no reason for me to keep you around"


	8. Pretend and Lie

Disclaimer: I own no rights

thanks for reviewing **seghen**...here goesmore for ya :)

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'Ron should have broken more than Malfoy's nose' Hermione thought. She sighed and started to pick up the scattered pieces of root from the rug on the floor. Ron had to be alright. He knew where to go for help, if there was a safe house left.

'Can't worry about Ron,' she though to herself. She had to worry about making sure the spell worked on only those who were seeking to betray Malfoy for personal gain. Hermione didn't know who amongst them was part of the resistance. Harry was going to be moved to Azkaban tomorrow- along with Neville. She had overheard two of Malfoy's men talking. She was going to have to figure out a way to pass on information.

Sometimes she would get angry. Moments like this one, moments when she thought of the fact that Malfoy could have been dead by now. Dumbledore had left his advice, his guidance, always telling Harry that Malfoy could be turned- that Malfoy was not evil.

'So much for that' Hermione thought bitterly. 'There was nothing redeeming about Malfoy, but Dumbledore had been too kind to see it'

She understood why Harry was tired of listening to others. She had understood why he hade made that last desperate attempt to get at Voldemort. Others had doubted Harry, and perhaps that's the reason why it all had collapsed.

Malfoy, had been so much more instrumental and destructive than Dumbledore had ever guessed. He could not be turned, the way Snape had turned, because Malfoy cared for nothing or no one…no, he did care for something- his own vanity and glory.

'That selfish little rat' she thought to herself.

He disgusted her, he repulsed her and she knew the reason why. Deep down inside she had believed Dumbledore, deep down inside, she had always thought that there was no way Malfoy was capable of being so evil. A person, a real person is not capable of such cruelty. Yes, evil death eaters and such could do those things, but not someone she had grown up with. That boy that sat in classes with her, that boy who ignored and taunted her, that boy who burned with such resentful envy towards Harry…there was no way.

'I just didn't know what he was' she thought to herself finishing her task. 'He is just a heartless psychopath, willing to kill his own mother if the idea struck his fancy'

Looking at the work ahead of her she did not doubt that if the spell worked perfectly or if it was not done in time the heartless monster, because he was no longer a man in her eyes, would kill her.

'I am dead as it is' she thought to herself.

Hermione Granger was just buying time. With this time she was going to try to help her friends in any way she could, if Malfoy found out and killed her- well then it was the end of the run. If she got away with all she could, well then she would make sure to take Malfoy out before the end came. It's not like Malfoy was actually really going to trust her, he didn't trust anyone. So there would be no betrayal on her part

"I have to become the monster that I fight" she thought to herself. "He cares for nothing but himself. He deserves whatever I give him"

"Granger" Malfoy knocked on the door.

Hermione waited, slightly surprised that Malfoy had actually bothered to knock.

"Granger?" he repeated.

"Come in, Malfoy, for Merlin's sake" she snapped as she tried to clasp the bracelet around her wrist. "Since when do you knock?"

He didn't reply. She looked at him, he was dressed a black suit with a grayish/blue shirt that highlighted his eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Almost" she was anxious, a bit frustrated and exhausted. The spell had taken all her concentration and she was at her wits end.

"You might want to change that attitude, remember there's a role you have to play" he approached her.

"I just don't understand why you just can't leave me here" she sighed.

"Because you are amusing to the Dark Lord, he finds this entertaining. In this whole little charade he created you're my bloody fiancée, and it wouldn't be proper for me to leave you here. Give me that" he reached for her hand annoyed. Her battle with the clasp was getting on his nerves.

Hermione tensed then watched his fingers as they worked the diamond bracelet on. She pushed a strand of hair back and waited for him to finish.

"Why don't you go find yourself a girlfriend, Malfoy and tell him you're just going to keep me in here as a servant?" she asked.

"I have enough women to keep me company" he smirked. "I need you present in these events cause of the spells I want you to cast. The more freedom and access you have, the more you can help me"

Hermione frowned. Who were his women?

"Potter is going to be there" he mumbled and looked up at her brown eyes. "I thought you should know"

"You didn't tell me this!" she snapped.

"Well I'm telling you now! He is being moved to Azkaban tomorrow. Voldemort wanted to keep him around for Weasley's execution, but no point for that now" he finished his task. "Did you finish the spell?"

"Yes" she shoved the paper into his hand and walked towards the door, leaving him behind.

He reached for her hand. She shook him off.

"Don't touch me until we have to"

"What the bloody hell has gotten into you!" he demanded, gripping her arm. She stopped, unable to pull away.

"I don't like being threatened every single second, Malfoy" she hissed. "I could have gone with Ron, but I didn't"

Malfoy watched her, his eyes focusing on her lips.

"Did you hear me?" she snapped.

"Yes, I heard you!" he shouted. "What do you want?"

"Stop threatening me. Stop torturing me"

There were tears in her eyes. He frowned, finding this whole situation very confusing. Why in god's earth would he ever want to stop torturing her?

"I'm afraid" she whispered. "I am terrified of slipping up and being caught. I don't know what he would do to me…and you're not helping"

"Alright, alright, relax" he let her go. "But don't try to act like you owe me any loyalty. The reason you stayed was because you couldn't leave your hero Potter, isn't it?"

"Is there any other reason why I would have?" she asked.

"No" he felt a kick in his gut….tension in his stomach. He knew it and he had no doubt of it, but why did it still bother him? 'Because it's that bloody prat Potter, and I just can't get rid of him'. "I want him dead, Granger and I know you're not going to stand for that. So why don't we focus on the things we have in common and leave those things aside for now"

"Your enemies" she whispered, nodding.

"My enemies, that's all we have" he agreed.

**Malfoy Manor: Ballroom**

"Are you ready?" he whispered leaning into her.

He smelled great. His blond hair was slicked back, his clothes perfectly pressed. She was wearing a gown that matched his shirt. There were a few familiar faces, she had grown accustomed to the guards, to the people who worked for him. For their part, they had grown accustomed to her- they watched her, but never spoke to her. This had probably been on his orders.

"Does it make a difference?" she snapped and took his arm.

"Behave, Granger" he straightened and led her into the room. "Time to put on a show…don't you just love it?"

She was silent, contemplating his voice. Was there sarcasm or pride in the question? Had he been mocking her or sharing something to give her encouragement. The splendor of the gold-trimmed room awed her. It was crowded with countless guests, countless killers. It had been the first time in a while that she had seen some of these people. Her eyes caught sight of Theodore Nott, the squirrelly Slytherin smiled at the two of them. Although she had seen Nott cast a killing curse on Dean Thomas she forced herself to smile as Malfoy led her towards the guest.

"Well, it seems that even the catastrophe of this morning won't stop us from celerbrating" Nott smiled at Malfoy and then cast a knowing glance at Granger.

"Nott, Granger's mind was obliviated, as you know and we are reintroducing her to all her friends" Malfoy told him.

"Ah, yes" Nott looked at her in a condescending way. "Welcome back. In Hogwarts we sat together in some classes, always mocking those disgusting mudbloods""Those inferior creatures" she spat with a smile. "So glad to count you as a friend"

Nott laughed and shook Malfoy's hand.

"Great job, Draco" he patted him on the back. "This is bloody brilliant"

"The dark lord's idea" Malfoy mumbled.

Hermione smiled and pretended not to know what was going on. It was so easy to look confused- she thought to herself- when what she wanted to do was claw his face and tear out his heart. Everyone in this room repulsed her, but somehow at least a few of them would get what they deserved tonight.

"Oh, I have to get going, to begin the dinner" Malfoy pulled away from Nott.

"I am going to kill him" Hermione mumbled.

"Yeah, well not while I'm around" he chided and led her towards the center of the hall where Voldemort waited.

"Young Malfoy" he smiled at his protégé. "And our darling Ms. Granger, you truly do look enchanting"

"Thank you" she smiled.

"Well should we reveal our trophy to the crowd of revelers?" he asked.

"It is time" Malfoy smiled.

"This way Ms. Granger" Voldemort took Hermione's hand.

Hermione's body shivered. In an instant everything around her disappeared and she felt like she was falling. There was a burning in her chest, darkness in the room- she was feeling terror. She was afraid that Voldemort would read her, would read her very soul. She pulled away from Voldemort and reached to give Malfoy a kiss.

"Help me" she whispered against and gave him a terrified stare as her lips gently touched his. As she went back to Voldemort, pretending she had just meant to give Draco a kiss, as any girlfriend would have.

"My Lord, what if Hermione unveils our trophy?" Malfoy called back from the stand.

Voldemort was about to take her hand. His face slowly turned into a smile. "Go on, pretty one, show everyone what we have" he urged her.

Hermione's stomach was tight and she knew he could read something on her face. He felt something. There was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Yes, my lord" she smiled and rushed to Draco, feeling like she was a moment away from throwing up in front of the crowd.


	9. Tonight

Disclaimer: i dont own any rights, nor any characters

thanks for the reviews..more reviews- more updates :) haha, blackmail

for that insightful and lengthy review **strawberrylemonade520** here is a long one...

_We'll crucify the insincere tonight  
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight- smashing pumpkins__  
_

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"There are two things in store for us tonight" Malfoy began.

The crowd began to slowly quiet down.

"We have special guests here amongst us tonight. The guests shall provide us with entertainment. We will also be dealing with a minor setback we had earlier this morning" Malfoy continued.

Hermione surveyed the crowd. Lavander Brown was present…Lavander Brown? That made no sense to her. Why would she be there? Lavander had been with the Order…Lavander could have betrayed them or could she be like Snape? Why was she here? They would not have allowed her to attend if she hadn't been one of theirs, if they had suspected her at all.

Lavander glanced over at Blaise. What was going on?

"Please seal the doors" Malfoy ordered.

A low, but uncomfortable murmur rolled through the crowd. People were apprehensive. Malfoy pulled out a parchment, the one with the list of every guest present tonight- everyone who was associated with the Dark Lord. She looked over at Malfoy, he was waiting for her to give him the words to the spell.

'What if Lavander had something to do with it? What if she's here as a spy? What if I am betraying my friends?' Hermione began to panic. 'Keep it simple, Hermione' she tried to calm herself down. 'Only those who seek to harm Malfoy in order to be in the graces of the Dark Lord' she thought.

"Granger" Malfoy was not amused by her pause.

Her whole body was shaking. She took a deep breath and found that it came in shivering spasms. For a moment she thought back to the cold long walk she and Ron had taken the night the two decided to be a couple. It had been November and the school grounds had been almost frozen by then…

Hermione had prepared for this. She had prepared two spells on the parchment.

"Reveilo" she whispered. "Malfoy, you must be thinking of the Dark Lord as you do it"

He gave her an odd look.

"Don't mess with me, Granger" he warned her. "I have three of your friends trapped in the dungeon"

"If Voldemort dies, so does Harry. I am not ready to make that trade…Harry can chose that for himself" she told him.

Staring at her for a few seconds, perhaps to gauge her sincerity he turned back to the crowd and tapped the parchment with his hand. "Reveilo"

There was a rumbling in the crowd. Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe and Adrian Pucey sprung into action. As if previously orchestrated they pounced on Augustus Rockwood, subduing the wizard when he tried to pull away.

The crowd was in a state of ordered chaos. Internally there was confusion and panic, externally everyone tried to pretend things were calm. The nervousness filled the air, and a few people cried out when more of Malfoy's young guards apprehended two other men in the crowd.

"Bring them forward" Malfoy motioned with his hand.

"What is going on Malfoy?" Voldemort was oddly not amused.

"My Lord, I present the men who are responsible for our little elf incidents. These men are traitors" Malfoy bowed.

Across their faces the word TRAITOR was becoming clearer, brought on by a red skin rash. Hermione smiled- 3 down and many more to go.

"Malfoy, this is Rosier…he is one of my oldest and most faithful" Voldemort announced.

"My Lord, this parchment is enchanted and any who took part in the conspiracy are now here for us to see"

"Rockwood?" he looked at the second man. "Robards?"

The three men were silent.

"I want an explanation" Voldemort demanded.

"My Lord, I know there is no use in lying to you. I did allow the first house elf access in order to lead Granger to her death" Rockwood began. "The creature was easily misled and given inappropriate directions. My goal was only to get this mud…"

"Silence!" Voldemort roared. He seemed almost terrified of what Rockwood had almost said. "You are here sentenced to death"

"My Lord!" Rockwood pleaded. "There was only the intention of cleansing this place, of carrying out our plan!"

"The rest of you will be questioned as to your involvement" Voldemort glanced at Rosier. "And it will not be pleasant for either of you…death is the penalty for treason. Torture is the penalty for betrayal"

It sickened her. As the three were led away, the new world around her sickened her. Voldemort turned to Malfoy.

"Continue with the festivities, Young Malfoy"

Malfoy nodded and Hermione could tell there was pride in Voldemort's voice again.

"You want to see your friends?" Malfoy took her by the arm.

"I did something good for you Malfoy, you can help me out now" she hissed under her teeth.

"Don't worry its not their intention that all of them die" he pulled back the curtain to reveal Harry on the floor of the cage. However there was a werewolf chained to the other side of the cage.

"Your dear Professor Lupin…didn't take his Wolfsbane" Malfoy smiled.

"No" Hermione whispered not accepting what was going to happen.

There were guards standing around the cage, with weapons.

"We don't want Potter dead, Granger" he smiled. "We just want the wolf to have fun with him for a while"

Hermione's eyes were focused on Harry who was slowly waking up.

"Release the Wolf once Potter is on his feet!" Voldemort announced. "And Malfoy, make sure Potter isn't hurt…fatally"

**3:45 am Malfoy Manor:**

The werewolf was dead. Malfoy sat around the large empty room were the crowd had been gathered hours before. A few candles lit the large hall. It was dark and somber now, the cheering and screaming had faded long ago. He was tired, his hair no longer slicked back. Draco felt exhausted, drained. The evening had wore on and dragged on. The torture below, the killing above. The reproachful glances of all of them. He had a glass of firewhiskey in his hand and his jacket was on hanging on the back of the chair. Granger was sobbing somewhere. She had played her role. He had seen her dig her nails into her hands to keep from crying out- she had held on for much longer than he had expected.

'To hell with it' he thought and took another drink.

Potter had been tossed around, wounded, bitten…but it didn't matter. Potter wasn't going to turn…they had taken care of that and Malfoy didn't like the idea of what Voldemort had done.

'Whatever it takes to ensure his survival' Malfoy thought bitterly. 'The wizard never believed in his own cause. The reasons he gave, the credo he spewed meant nothing to him, all Voldemort wants to do is not die'

The guards around the cage would taunt and wound the beast as Potter would lay there taking the attack without putting up a fight. Hermione had excused herself during one particular gruesome bite to Harry's arm…well it was still attached- that's all that mattered. If anything it proved that Voldemort's little spell had worked…andMalfoydidn't like that at all.

Tomorrow…well in a few hours, since it was almost dawn…Potter would be out of his household and he could worry about other things at hand. There was an echo of footsteps, he glanced back slowly…he was a little more intoxicated than he would like to have been.

"Malfoy, I know that spell" it was Millicent Bulstrode. "That witch, that mudblood you keep, she gave it to you"

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy asked.

"Why are you keeping Hermione Granger?" she demanded angrily, standing in front of him now.

"Why aren't you gone?" Malfoy drawled annoyed.

"When they had their secret little meetings, Granger had that spell" Millicent insisted. "Why would you use that on your own?"

"Well those three were obviously not part of us, were they?" Malfoy looked up at her. "Unless, of course you agree with their conspiracy to set Weasley and Granger free"

"They wanted Granger dead, as most of us do. It is an embarrassment how you parade her around. The thing with Weasley, I know it was not them" she insisted.

"Oh yeah, anything you care to share with me?" he asked yawning. "I would love to have more traitors executed"

"The only traitor here is you Malfoy, for keeping that mudblood around" she spat and turned to leave.

"Hey!" Malfoy stood up outraged and gripped her arm, digging his fingers into her skin. "Say it again, Bulstrode"

She didn't, she stared at him defiantly.

"Why do you keep the mudblood, Malfoy?" she asked. "Why did you obliviate her, instead of killing her?"

"Because of Potter" he mumbled. "Because of things you don't understand. She was leverage"

"Leverage?" Millicent sneered. "I don't know why any of them are still alive! You call her leverage? You are just a puppy with a sick crush on a disgusting mudblood, and you can't let it go!"

Draco was so stunned by her accusation that he couldn't even think of a reply. He stood there like an idiot for the first time in his life. Millicent pulled her arm away and walked off leaving him still dumbfounded that she had dared to speak to him the way she had. Part of him felt like he was dreaming, the firewhiskey had brought on a vision that was completely out of hand.

'With a sick crush' he sneered internally when his brain turned back on. 'a sick crush' he chuckled now and closed his eyes. There it was, the image of her.

Malfoy threw the glass across the room and dropped on the chair covering his face. Now he had new images. He had images of her soft, perfect breasts as Potter kissed her. He had images of her long slender legs and her skin…and he found that pressure on his throat returning.

The images before had been different. The images while in their last year of Hogwarts, when he returned pretending to be on their side…those images involved hurting her. Those images involved making her watch as he killed Potter and beat Ron. Those images involved her tears and those images were full of hatred. That was all he had allowed himself to picture Granger for…to hurt her. Except for the occasional moments when his mind had been mutinous…

"Malfoy I want him buried" she entered the room and he jumped up startled by her voice. "You can't leave him there"

Her face was red. She had been crying. Her hair was still tied back, the make up around her eyes was more prominent, smeared by her tears. She walked towards the cage which was now again covered by the curtain.

'Why was she here, ordering me around?' he thought.

"Malfoy!" she snapped as she went on the platform.

Draco stood up. "Leave it alone, Granger" he warned in a dismissive tone.

"What are you going to do with him?" she asked.

"He is human again now that he's dead" he told her walking up to her. "You don't want to see what's under that"

The hatred in her eyes burned through him. That's what he wanted, isn't it? That's what he kept her for.

"You are sick" she whispered with that thickhatred in her voice.

Malfoy smiled.

'Why do you keep her?' Millicent's voice echoed in his head. Her hair was messy, she looked distraught and angry and hurt…and she hated him but he saw her hand reach for the curtain.

"I told you no! Granger!" he shouted and yanked her into his arms. "Why don't you do as you're told" he growled.

"Let me go!" she shouted trying to pull away.

"Why do I keep you?" he asked no one becoming painfully aware of how much he liked the way her body felt. "Why do I keep you, Granger?"

"Because I can help…"

"No! I know that you're not helping me" he smiled dragging her away from the platform, walking backwards towards the chair he had been sitting on.

"I am!" she shouted panic rushing through her. "Stop!" His grip was hurting her.

She was struggling against him, he half lost his balance and slammed her against the wall. He was pressed against her their breathing coming in sharp and quick. Hermione couldn't move, she held still waiting for him to relax.

"You are out of it" she stated. "You need to calm down"

Malfoy wasn't listening. He was staring at her.

"Let me go, Malfoy" she whispered.

He pushed against her and kissed her hard. Hermione cried out. When she tried to move her face he gripped her by the hair, not letting her turn to the side. Her mouth was warm, her body was hot, he wanted to feel her skin, he wanted to bite her, to grab her harder, to crush her under him. He eased the kiss, caressing her lips with his, his tongue gently tracing the edge of hers. Each touch made his stomach tighter, the pressure in chis chest building on. He felt relieved when he pressed himself against her, easing the pain building inside.

There was an odd pattern to her breathing, an odd sound that made the emptiness around him pull back. There was a worldsurrounding him again and when he recognized that she was no longer resisting he pushed away from her and stood back. She was frozen staring at him. He smiled as he walked away, because he knew that now she was finally afraid of him.


	10. the big break

Disclaimer: I own no rights and make no money. These characters are not mine.

Thanks for the reviews...I'm glad some of you are still with me. All comments are welcome good, bad, ect...might be updating Brave New World now since the two are now nearly caught up. Oddly I noticed the two of them have an odd thread of similarity...as to a character.

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There was commotion outside. Hermione could hear footsteps all around, voices rushing by. It was still early in the morning. She tried to ignore it at first, her body and mind too weak to want to get involved. The way Malfoy had pulled her to him last night, the way he had kissed her still clung to her mind. It had been an accident, a moment of drunken anger…its not like he liked kissing her it was just that he wanted to humiliate her. Hard as she might try, she couldn't really remember how she had reacted at the moment. It had all been so fast and confusing. 

Her bedroom door slammed open and before she could sit up on her bed Draco Malfoy had dragged her to her feet.

"What do you know of this?" he demanded.

"What are you talking abou…" she was still shaken from the night before and felt nervous that she had just been thinking about him. Although she was worried about his present state, she was more concerned about the fact that her robe was lying next to her bed and she was only wearing a sleeping shirt.

"Granger, don't play games with me right now. I can kill you fast or I can kill you slow" he threatened his fingers digging so roughly into her shoulders that she began to cringe, trying to pull herself in to ease the pressure.

"You have got to get a grip Malfoy. You are losing it" she snapped. "What is wrong with you!"

He was not raving mad, he was not pacing and throwing his arms up in the air but Hermione had become the only person who got to see Malfoy outside his placid façade of composure. Still staring at her he released his grip. She remained still, watching him very carefully. There was something cold creeping into him again and she had to admit that part of her preferred the more emotional Malfoy. This one, the one that had walked away from her last night, reminded her that this man was capable of anything.

"Potter and your friend Neville escaped as they were being transferred to Azkaban" he smiled.

Hermione felt her skin shiver.

"You are lying" she hissed.

"No" he continued watching her carefully. "I am glad to see that you are as equally surprised"

"Malfoy I am in no mood for your games!" she snapped and turned for her robe.

"Game?" he laughed.

"You sick asshole. I know you get off on trying to hurt me but its not going to work anymore"

"Let's stop playing, Granger. What did you have to do with this?" he demanded walking up close to her again.

"You can look all you want" she flipped her hair and raised her chin after turning to face him. "I know nothing"

"Right" he watched her, that hint of a smile still on his lips.

The smile, Hermione thought momentarily, did not look sarcastic or evil- it looked amused. He was watching her as if he was enjoying the sight, enjoying their encounter.

"Are you serious?" she ventured suddenly realizing that the commotion outside was too much of a coincidence for this to be a hoax. "So is it all over? I mean is he gone? Is Voldemort dead?"

"Ah the blood bind that Potter cast" he began to turn from her. "You think he would sacrifice himself for the good of the world? Kill himself, to take Voldemort with him" he mocked.

"Malfoy" she gripped his arm. "Is it true?"

"Sad that Potter didn't get to say goodbye before being off?" he asked and raised his wand at her. "Show me the safe house" he ordered "Demonstra Expernzia"

**Hogwarts Grounds, earlier that year:**

"_I still don't trust him" Ron mumbled._

_"Well I have my reasons for trusting him" Harry smiled. _

_"So I will go with Malfoy's group then?" Hermione asked._

_"No, Mione, I think we should let Seamus should go with him"_

_"Don't trust me to keep an eye on that ferret?" she smiled. "If you think we have reason to trust him, I suppose we can't keep doubting his change of heart"_

_Harry glanced at her with a smile. _

_'Ron is so thick' Malfoy thought. 'Who couldn't tell?'_

"_Change of heart, as if Malfoy has one" Ron mumbled._

"_Oh, Ron, I'm sure he does" Hermione shrugged. "Haven't you've seen the way he and Pansy are always smiling at each other when they think no one is watching?"_

"_No, actually…I haven't" Ron replied._

_Harry's look this time was one of confusion._

_Granger had noticed him and Pansy? The two weren't a secret, but they weren't exactly public either. They were friends and then some, but Pansdidnt want to scare off potential suitors by thinking they had to compete with Malfoy and he had never wanted anyone to think that he actually had something going on with her._

"_I mean…since he's been back. I think he came back for her" she added. "I heard Lavander Brown say that she heard Millicent and Pansy talking that Malfoy had done something that it seems made them think that he had come back for a girl" she smiled at her powers of deduction. "Love conquers all"_

_'That bitch Millicent running her mouth' Malfoy thought. 'What had they said?' Is that why Millicent suspected something? He hadn't seen her all day today_

"_Oh please" Harry rolled his eyes._

_Ron laughed and pulled her into his arms._

'_Curse him mate' Draco thought with a smile as he watched Harry's pained expression. 'Beat the bloody prat. You know you could have her'. He could feel the way Harry burned with envy and the way he would force himself to look away when he felt he was going to lose control, because he had been all too familiar with the feeling himself._

"_So here then?" Hermione smiled. "All fails we meet here?" _

"_Yep, the portkeys are in place, all five of them"_

Malfoy was pushed back, stunned from the effect of the spell he let Granger take a hold of his wand. He didn't release it though. When he exerted this level of control over Granger it weakened him more than anything he had felt before.

"Why isn't Harry dead?" she demanded.

"Voldemort cast a spell that will keep them alive…one cannot die without the other. They must both die at the same time" he replied. "Where do the portkeys lead?"

"Safe houses"

"Where Granger?"

"Don't know. Harry can't die?"

"Its only temporary, until the new moon. Only three people know this was done" he replied. "Let go!" he pulled.

"Finite…" she tried to end his spell, still clinging to his hand and wand.

"What are the portkeys!"

"NO!" she shouted. "Fine…I just know one…a red shoe. End it Malfoy!"

"Did you have anything to do with Potter's escape?" he asked.

"No, but I have suspicious as to who is involved…Who did you come back for, Malfoy?" she shouted.

"Finite Incantatem" he pulled away. "I so love our little games" he hissed.

"It was her, wasn't it?" she demanded.

"What do you care?" he shot back.

"You mock me for my little relationship failings, but look at you. You can't even admit that you were crazy about someone and couldn't bear her loss" she told him condescendingly.

"Well there are a lot of things a man doesn't like to admit to himself. Under the spell Potter admitted that there were moments when he hated Ron" Malfoy continued after raising an eyebrow. "He even admitted to having moments when he wished him dead, even going as far as imagining his friend dying in battle"

Hermione felt her body grow cold.

"Then come back and comfort you. Ron was quite shocked to hear these revelations from his best friend and leader… Potter might have escaped but he won't get far, not with such few friends left"

"You are a coward"

"Think so?" he asked as if genuinely interested in her opinion. "You are coming with me this very instant and we are going to cast the binding spell between us. You are going to be my shield against that thorn in my side Potter. I will make sure that he knows if he kills me, he kills you"

"He might be willing to take the risk" she felt tense, she didn't want to follow through on her oath. "You have an unkilleable, undestroyable Harry now. Wow, that was a big mistake. No wonder you're scared stiff"

"No, I know he won't risk hurting you" he grabbed her by the wrist. "Once you taught me that self control was all I needed to cast the spell it worked wonders on Potter"

"But only for a little while, right Malfoy?" she smiled. "I'm sure you were surprised how fast he was able to build a tolerance to you….you second rate wizard"

He yanked her. "Second rate or not, your life is mine now" he smiled. "I told you I would make you my slave"

"For as long as I have to, Malfoy" she grit her teeth. "And it will be worth my death to bring you down"

He laughed. "You could have killed me already, Granger"

"I need you as much as you need me. I think you should remember that, and don't become worthless to me"

His gray eyes didn't seem as cold as before. It was an odd reaction, she had expected him to grow even more angry. Instead he looked pleased.

Malfoy would never have guessed Granger could talk that way- he was corrupting her by the minute, or maybe there was more to the mudblood than he had ever seen. Either way, she kept surprising him at every turn. Yeah, they did have a big problem on their hand. If he could postphone the attack on Potter, if he could kill him when the spell wore off after the new moon then he could be free of Voldemort and claim the throne as his own. Granger had to be his ticket to staying alive, otherwise Potter would be a juggernaut hell bent on vengeance.

"Let's turn you into a slave, shall we?" he whispered.


	11. the mighty have fallen

**Disclaimer: I own no rights;**

**Thanks for the reviews guys :) since i got a few i figure i will add another chapter..oh and thanks for the "hug" maryjayne..haha. yes, Lupin is dead, didn't make it so clear i guess. Sorry :(**

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**The Black Forest:**

Harry dropped to the ground breathlessly.

"We got to keep going" Neville urged.

He was hurt, but most of all he felt weak.

"Get up Potter!" Tonks pulled him to his feet. "It's just a bit further"

Harry closed his eyes and kept moving. Neville and Tonks carried most of his weight as leaned his arms over their shoulders.

"How the mighty have fallen" one of the two wizards that apparated in front of them smiled. "You look pathetic Potter"

"Shut up Ricos" Tonks hissed at the man who had been one of Harry's guards. "Did everyone make it?"

"Yeah, we set up a fake trail" the one other one spoke, Colin Creevey stared at Harry. "He's hurt"

"I know, but we have to keep going" Tonks started to walk again.

"It should be safe for us to use magic here" Colin reached forward. "I can try to…"

"It is still not safe, Creevey. They can trace us, it could make it easy for them to find us. They have us under watch. We have to get somewhere safe before we…"

"Why are you guys wasting your time?" Harry groaned looking up. "All of you know what has to be done"

There was silence.

"I can't do this" Neville was shivering. "I can't"

"Neville, you have to" Harry looked over at the lanky wizard who was staring at him. Neville hadn't looked this scared in a long time…not since he had been captured after Luna's death. He hadn't thought it was possible to feel anything again- but here it was…something that was horrible enough to bring fear in him again.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked. "Get him here"

**Malfoy Manor:**

Hermione looked at the dress before her. She smiled. It was really quite pretty. Without a thought she reached for the glass of firewhiskey and took another drink. Voldemort himself was going to bind her to Draco Malfoy today.

'I could just choose death' she thought to herself. 'I could chose to die'

Her hands caressed the soft fabric of the robe. It was smooth and cool to her touch. She knew she could not abandon her friends.

'Harry can't die' she thought. 'Therefore I can't die'

Ron would never forgive her. She closed her eyes and felt the tears again. It was something she hadn't been able to even think about. With all the hell around her she hadn't really sobbed for what she had lost- her love. Never, never would she have guessed herself capable of doing what she had done. She loved Ron, she truly loved Ron but there had been something, something there that had pulled her to Harry. Harry needed her in a way Ron didn't

Hermione took another drink. Ron adores me. Harry needs me. Ron wants me. Harry desires me. Ron touches me. Harry caresses me. Ron is rough and raw and real. Harry is gentle and worships and is ethereal. How could she have hurt him? How could she have hurt Ron? The hatred that he felt for her now, the betrayal inside- it made breathing unbearable. It made her panic with the desire to take it all back.

She was going to sell her soul to Malfoy- she had done that for Ron. This was her bargain, the devil would have her but it was her punishment, her penance for what she had done.

'I wish you could hear me' she thought. "I'm so sorry Ron"

With that she took another drink and let the house elf help her to her ceremonial dress. It was jade green- Malfoy was so tacky- with matching emerald hair clips.

"Granger, are you ready?" Malfoy came in.

She turned to him, her hair pinned up, a few curls falling around on her shoulders. The dress, oriental style, fit tightly against her body. The emeralds in her hair sparkled, her eyes however were dark. He was quiet when she turned to him- he was staring silently, the door still open behind him.

"Ahm…" he quickly closed the door when she looked away, reaching for her bottle of firewhiskey. "Those…. You look…" he approached her.

His black dress robes had a jade green shirt and bowtie.

"The dress fits you well" he finished.

"Sod off, don't try to give me a compliment" she sneered

"Your eyes look red, you shouldn't look like you've been crying. I'm sure there's spell for that" he ignored her fould mood.

"Go to hell, Malfoy, I don't care what I look like"

"Alright, Granger put the firewhiskey down" he sighed taking it.

"Only way I'm going to be able to go through with it" she hissed with a smile.

"You're gonna calm down and do what you have to do"

"Right, cause this is the world you and your friends have created" she continued. "Is this the world you wanted?"

"What bloody difference does it make?" he asked.

She gave him a dirty look. "If you don't think it makes a difference then why did you have to destroy my world?"

"Don't be so bloody self centered…this isn't your world"

"No! but it was my life! It was my world!" she shouted approaching him. "And I'm going to bind myself to you tonight…to you, of all wizards. You come in here looking handsome and every inch the arrogant slytherin you are, but in reality you are just a killer, like any madman out there- you elegant robes can't hide what you are"

"You are alive because of me" he told her.

"You don't get to say you saved my life because you didn't kill me. You didn't save me, you kept me"

"If anyone finds out that I am keeping you like this we will both be dead. I know how happy it would make you to kill me but I have some news about the world around us…this world would be a lot worse for those muggles if I wasn't around. I don't want the world exterminated" he told her.

"You can't be a king if you have no subjects" she smiled.

"Exactly, so sober up" he gripped her arms and shook her. "Sober up, mudblood because there can't be any mistakes on your part. I can make your life easier or I can make it infinitely harder".

As if every single memory had hit her at once, Hermione's bravado faded away.

"I can't" she quipped.

Malfoy let her go, looking down at her condescendingly as she broke down.

"I can't Malfoy" she dropped on her knees. "I can't even breathe anymore"

**The Black Forest:**

"What happened to him?" Ron asked looking down at the young man on the ground. Harry was sitting on the floor, his back leaning on a tree, his head slumped forward.

"Lupin" Neville told him without looking at Ron. He kept his eyes cast low and refused to acknowledge anyone present.

Ron nodded, his eyes still on Harry. There was silence for a while.

"Ron, you don't have to do it. He wanted us to call for you" Tonks told him gently as Creevey stood there frozen still staring at Harry.

"We can't do this" he spoke up. "We can't, this is Harry Potter" he felt the tears burn in his eyes. "We can heal him and he will go on and he will finally…"

"Shove it, mate. I did my part on the specific promise that Potter was going to die" the Azkaban guard who had helped release Harry argued.

"We can't give up like this!" Creevey cried. "We can still fight! We have him back, we can…"

"Shut up, Creevey" Ron snapped and turned back to Harry.

"Promise me you will go after Malfoy" Harry managed through his labored breathing. "Promise me you will bring him down"

"I will promise you nothing" Ron spat through grit teeth.

Harry opened his eyes and looked at his friend for the first time since his apparition in to the forest.

The others looked at each other confused.

"Give us some time" Ron ordered without looking at the others.

"We don't have much time" Tonks told him gently.

"It won't take much time" Ron replied.

The others slowly made their way from the pair.

"I'm sorry, Ron" Harry looked down. It wasn't shame or defeat or even sadness, his voice was full of acceptance- he had done wrong and knew the right thing was to apologize but he also knew how worthless apologizing was.

"Why? Cause you didn't get me killed in battle?" Ron asked. "Cause you failed all of us! Or because you shagged my fiancée on the day I proposed to her!"

"I guess all" Harry shrugged.

"You gues…" Ron nodded smiling, finding Harry's lack of emotion insulting. "You are a failure, Potter. The boy who lived to fuck us all, that's all you were. You led us astray, you failed"

"And what would have happened without me?" he asked. "You think I chose to be what I am? I didn't ask for this bloody scar in my head"

"boohoo, the unwilling savior"

"What would you have done without me Ronald!" Harry growled. "You don't have a single organized thought in your head. What would the Order have done without me! If I hadn't been born all those old bastards would have died right after Voldemort finished killing my parents. Maybe he would have gotten yours too" Harry smiled. "And then Merlin bless us, you would be dead too"

Ron rushed forward and began to pummel Harry.

"You took everything I had!" Ron shouted. "I trusted you!"

"She wanted me!" Harry fought back with new found strength. He landed a few punches on Ron's face. It didn't last long, Ron managed to subdue Harry and stood up kicking him once in the stomach. Harry doubled over in pain.

"You took her, you seduced her, you knew she was mine! You, the bloody hero that no one can resist, the tortured soul!"

"If she had loved you, Ron she wouldn't have given herself to me" he shouted. "She would have remembered you existed when I kissed her"

"I would have been someone, if I had never met you, instead I was just your bloody shadow" he hissed. "I was just the stupid dog that followed you willingly. I never even gave myself a chance"

"Well, now you get to kill me" Harry smiled up at Ron.

Ron kicked him in the ribs.

"Yeah" Ron smiled. "I guess I get to be the one who kills Voldemort afterall"

"Potter's sidekick friend" Harry smiled. "No one will ever remember that, they will remember that Harry died to bring down Voldemort"

"You think so?" Ron pulled out his wand.

"About bloody time you grew one, Mate" Harry stared at the wand aimed at him. "No wonder Hermione couldn't get enough that night"

"Avada Kedavra" Ron shouted.


End file.
